Occupy Philly Draws Support, Ridicule from UPenn’s Ivory Tower
Members of the University of Pennsylvania’s faculty have released a statement of solidarity with Occupy Philly.
“This movement expresses widespread anger with the economic and political disenfranchisement of the great majority of the American people. Occupy Wall Street is protesting a system that provides increasingly few opportunities for the majority –– the 99% –– while generating vast profits for a tiny minority. Along with the demonstrators, we are demanding an end to the extreme inequalities that structure our society.”
“… We applaud the efforts to keep the protests peaceful and democratic … We join our colleagues in the labor movement, especially teachers unions, and at other universities and colleges, in supporting this movement. We call on all members of the Penn community to lend their support to this peaceful and potentially transformative movement.”
Participating professors come from a variety of disciplines, including English, Political Science, Anthropology, Theater Arts, Cinema Studies, Medicine, Religious Studies and Engineering.
For full text, as well as a list of professors who rubber-stamped the statement, click here.
In semi-related news, Penn students have created a sarcastic “Occupy Penn” Facebook page.
“Are you ready for the next Tianamen Square moment? On October 21st, flood into College Green and occupy Penn,” the page says.
It also notes that “Strict Hipster dress code and grooming will be enforced,” and lists some of the following provisions for attendance:
-You are currently unemployed and/or unhappy
-You’re just having a bad day
-You want to blame someone else for your life’s problems
-You’d rather inconvenience others than actively pursue employment
-You are someone who likes to highlight problems but are incapable of generating solutions
With 42 confirmed attendees and 43 “maybes” out of 1471 invited guests, it doesn’t seem like the pseudo-movement is gathering much steam.
