Inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement in Manhattan and similar demonstrations happening in cities around the globe, Binghamton University students and Binghamton community members staged events Friday and Saturday to protest corporate greed and influence on financial and public policy.
Since Sept. 17, thousands of people have camped out in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, located adjacent to Wall Street, protesting practices of Wall Street corporations and the U.S. government. Periodic flare-ups between the protesters and police have produced hundreds of arrests — including several BU students arrested among a group of the protesters staging a march across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, Oct. 1. The Occupy Wall Street protests have drawn worldwide media attention and sparked sympathy protests in cities as far away as Rome and Tokyo.
OCCUPY BINGHAMTON
About 75 people, including local residents and BU students, occupied the park at the corner of Court Street and State Street beginning at noon Saturday.
People at the protest held signs that read “99 percent is too big to fail,” “the beginning is here” and “I had to choose: job or health insurance,” among others. The protest included anti-Wall Street, anti-Washington as well as anti-hydrofracking sentiment.
Some “Occupy Binghamton” protesters stayed overnight Saturday — through Sunday night’s rain — and remain at the location today. As of yesterday evening, about 10 tents, as well as a tarp structure, were deployed at the location.
Ethan Roach, a Binghamton resident, said he helped to organize the Occupy Binghamton demonstration.
“I am one of the main organizers,” Roach said. “I went to the first Occupy Binghamton meeting a month ago, and we’ve met every week to organize. There are about eight to 10 of us that helped set this up.”
Roach said he expects the protest will continue for an indeterminate amount of time.
“The public and people need a place to be heard,” Roach said. “This is a venue to stand up for themselves and know they’re not alone. We’re going to be here for a long time.”
Andrew Block, executive assistant to Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan, stated in an email sent late yesterday that the city will not disturb the protesters.
“The mayor, police chief and other safety officials were aware of the event ahead of time, and planned accordingly,” Block wrote. “The City supports first amendment rights 100 percent, and the administration stands in solidarity with those seeking economic justice.”
Ryan, who appeared at the protest Saturday, said that his office firmly supports the protesters and their aims.
“This system puts profit over people and our planet, it has put us in a dire situation and I stand with all those fighting to change it,” Ryan said in an email statement. “It’s an uphill battle, but the Occupy movement is turning heads and catching on, from the largest cities to the smallest towns. That includes the Occupy Binghamton efforts.”
Protesters made speeches to the assembled crowd, who chanted some slogans back in unison.
“I’m scared for the future,” said Mike Iannelli, a freshman majoring in political science. “America is on a declining path. We have to fight corruption and greed and make this a better place.”
Eric Marinelli, a freshman majoring in women’s studies, said he was particularly concerned about the economy and education system in the United States.
“I am concerned for the state and for public education,” Marinelli said. “There is decreasing financial aid for students in need. There is a problem with the economy, and I’m afraid the problems will get worse.”
Marinelli said he hopes that increased public knowledge will change the opinions of voters and lead them to demand more from their elected representatives.
CAMPUS PROTEST
The BU chapter of Democracy Matters, a group that campaigns against the impact of money in elections, held an event from noon to 4 p.m. Friday on the Lois B. DeFleur Walkway outside the New University Union to express solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests and the Occupy Binghamton event Downtown.
The club’s members asked students to voice their opinions of Wall Street and government by writing messages on mock $1 million bills, which they strung up on wires to make a display.
“Those bills say ‘we are the 99 percent that needs to be heard,'” said Toni Bruno, president of BU’s Democracy Matters chapter and a sophomore majoring in political science, making a reference to a slogan promoted by the Occupy Wall Street protesters. “We are having students come up and write a message, they will write something that they think needs to be heard.”
Bruno said she wishes to see students expressing their own views on the economic and political climate, as well as listening to those of their peers.
“I expect to see students realizing that it’s important to express views, and thousands of other people have issues that need to be heard as well,” Bruno said.
Paul Klotklowski, a sophomore majoring in psychology and a member of Democracy Matters, said he wants to bring awareness of the now-global protest movement to campus.
“It is a nationwide movement,” Klotklowski said. “Everyone’s voice matters.”
Those who attended Friday’s protest in front of the New Union expressed different reasons for why they went.
“I’m protesting for clean elections,” said Alex Harris, an undeclared freshman and a member of Democracy Matters. “I’m concerned [about] money and politics.”
Harris called Occupy Binghamton a way for BU students to participate in a national movement.
“These students are stepping up and helping create a voice for all Binghamton students and students around the country,” Harris said. “We want to get angry about it.”