Students gathering before the march to Union Square

This week is OccupyCU’s Student Week of Action. Read on for Bwog resident #Occupier Jed Bush’s report on Day Three’s speak out and Day Four’s rally and march to Union Square, the latest in our ongoing coverage of this week’s events.

Thursday:

Today, OccupyCU participated in a student strike in solidarity with the OWS Day of Action, whose aims were to “resist austerity, reclaim the economy, and recreate our democracy.” The day began with a “strike party” to celebrate the two-month anniversary of the movement before heading down at 2 pm to join fellow protesters at Foley Square “to show Solidarity with laborers demanding jobs to rebuild this country’s infrastructure and economy.”

Due to rain, the participants migrated from the lawn in front of Butler to Low Steps, before finally huddling underneath the awning of Low. A mini-controversy arose as the demonstrators debated over the issue of becoming a “coalition”, which would give the group the right to reserve the space—though all in attendance quickly came to the consensus that to reserve space would go against the sentiment of “Occupying” a space. The organizers did seem pleased with the administration which, while not particularly happy with the protest plopping themselves directly in front of Low, did not act against them as they waited to leave.

Upon departing, several students in the march from Columbia commented on the highly organized nature of the proceedings. Despite the large number of participants, the OccupyCU coordinators had few problems in keeping their fellow protesters together. The protest’s participants represented a large diversity of the Columbia community. While perhaps the most vocal participants were seniors, many underclassmen told Bwog this was their first time actively participating in an Occupy Wall Street protest, which speaks to the efficacy of OccupyCU’s Student Week of Action. “Going to school at Columbia,” one sophomore explained, “you can forget what’s going on in the real world. We’ve now realized that despite our own privilege as Columbia students, it’s important to show solidarity with the movement. Because education should be a right, not a privilege.” Read more…

This week marks OccupyCU’s Student Week of Action. Read on for Bwog’s resident #OWS correspondent Jed Bush’s coverage of Day One: “End the Sotheby’s Lockout” rally.

Columbia’s Student Week of Action, orchestrated by OccupyCU, got off to a rather low-key start today, but that didn’t stop the 25 or so protesters planted in front of the Law School at noon from making some noise. They targeted former President of Columbia University, current Chancellor Kent Professor of Law at the Law School, and current Chairman of the Board at Sotheby’s, Michael Sovern, criticizing his poor track record on union rights.

Protesters in front of the Law School

The issue, according to their flier:

“Sotheby’s has kept its Teamsters 814 art handlers locked out… for the past 13 weeks [because they] would not accept Sotheby’s demand that they take a 10% cut in pay and hours, give up their 401(k) plan, and allow their work to be increasingly contracted out to low-paid workers who have no union to protect their rights. The art handlers at Sotheby’s have historically been majority people of color… This attack is not only classist, it’s racist.”

Sharp criticism, especially when you take into account that Sovern is, according to his Columbia bio, a current board member of the NAACP Defense Fund and a founding member of both the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund.

Still, as an issue that was seemingly disconnected from the day-to-day runnings of the university, most students that passed by, undergrads and Law students alike, were ambivalent to the cries of “union busting.” Yet where the protest may have failed to resonate with students, it succeeded admirably with University union workers, as a small contingent stood in solidarity with Teamsters 814 in front of the Law School. Maida Rosenstein, President of UAW Local 2110, the union responsible for representing Columbia’s clerical workers, was present and protested with the students on 116^th. Read more…

A group of students assembled on Low steps are currently protesting outside of Michael Bloomberg’s talk “Buisness Innovation and Entrepeneurship: City Strategies Summit with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.” The students protesting are loosely affiliated with the General Assembly, which will be meeting at 12:30 pm tomorrow at the Sundial. Video and pictures of the protest, and a scan of the students’ flyer below:

Protesters on the steps

Yesterday evening President of Republika Srspska Milorad Dodik gave a lecture titled “An American Foreign Policy Success Story: The Dayton Accords, Republika Srpska and Bosnia’s European Integration.” Dodik has attracted controversy over statements about the Yugoslav wars. Specifically, Dodik holds that the Tulza Massacre was staged, questions the reports of the Markale massacres, and, though he does not deny that the killings took place, does not consider the Srebrenica Massacre an act of genocide.

Beginning at noon a group of students and other protesters gathered on the Low steps, chanting and bearing banners. Some stayed until the speech was over to chant as Dodik left the library seven hours later. Opposition to his speaking engagement had been circulating earlier this week in academic and Bosniak expat fora, yet on campus publicity for the event seems to have been minimal. Though the event was open to the public, many non-students who registered online were turned away at the door.

President Dodik’s speech focused on the issue of autonomy for Republika Srpska. Srpska (not to be confused with the country of Serbia) is not an independent country, but one of two autonomous entities (along with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) that make up the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as Bosnia. The main difference between the two entities is ethnic: Srpska is mostly made up of Serbs, while the Federation is full of Bosniaks and Croats.

Read the full recap of Dodik’s speech after the jump.

A pixelated version of the poster in question

For the second year in a row, Columbia all-male a cappella group the Kingsmen has sparked controversy around campus with a provocative flyer campaign. Last year’s debacle featured a photo of a Kingsman himself with the text, “Rape me” and was followed up with an apology from the singing group—they had learned their lesson, it appeared.

Flyers that have recently appeared around campus call the sincerity of that apology into question. Another round of offensive advertising, very much following last year’s theme of rape, suggests that rather than take the negative press and condemnations to heart, the Kingsmen are more interested in leveraging them to attract attention.

Tonight, students plan to protest the Kingsmen’s latest oeuvre, a flyer promoting a Fall concert (which has since been cancelled, according to the protesters’ Facebook event) displaying a photo of a priest and the text, “Eleven singing boys, you say?” The protest is scheduled for 8 pm tonight on the steps of Low, where the concert was originally scheduled to take place.

According to the most recent discussion on the protest page, the event has purportedly been moved to Sigma Chi. The protest appears to have been abandoned in favor of a discussion that will be held at 4:30 in the IRC center, but these plans could be subject to change.

The Kingsmen did not respond to a request for comments.

We’re sick and tired of the man keeping aspiring writers/journalists/funny people down. Wearethe99percent who look at stupid posters and think, “Gee, I bet that a lot of other people would find my shoddy cellphone pic funny.” Well we aren’t going to take it any more.

Join us as we take over Lerner SGO starting at 7pm. There will be free food to sustain our occupation until our demands are realized or it becomes 8pm.

Totally real sign via Sign Generator

Yesterday afternoon, nearly two hundred Columbia students walked and pedalled downtown to join the Occupy Wall Street protests. Some professors ended class early, and even joined the ranks of protestors. Thank you to skillful photographers Caitlin Watson, Wilfred Chan (both CC ’13) and Peter Sterne (CC’14) for providing these photographs. 

Full images and account below

With the Occupy Wall Street movement gaining momentum and national attention, Columbia students and faculty alike have been getting involved. CU Activists is planning on taking it a step further with a campus-wide walkout of classes at 3:30 pm today. In addition to the current talking points (economic inequality, lack of proper Wall Street regulation, etc.), today’s march aims to draw attention to rising tuition rates and student debt.

The walk-out will is being organized in unison with similar walkouts at SUNY and CUNY campuses. Columbia organizers will be taking questions in front of Butler from 11am to 4pm today. Here are the details from their Facebook event page:

“We will meet outside campus gates and take the subway down to City Hall, where we’ll join the Community/Labor March in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, endorsed by dozens of NYC unions and community groups including the United Federation of Teachers, SEIU 32BJ and SEIU 1199, the Transit Workers Union Local 100, Make the Road New York, New Yorkers Against Budget Cuts, the Alliance for Quality Education, and more!”

Spotted flyer tipped by Caitlin Watson

The Occupy Wall Street protests continue on without an end in sight, and things heated up today around the Brooklyn Bridge. The protesters marched down the vehicle portion of the bridge, completely stopping traffic in the lanes. The NYPD responded quickly, blockading both sides and making nearly 400700 arrests, out of a total 1500 marchers. Paddy wagons as well as MTA buses were used to ferry away the arrestees, and those arrested include a New York Times contributing reporter and, according to one tipster, another Columbia student. At one point, almost 19,000 people were viewing the action via this streaming video.

If you still don’t really know what this is, Slate has put together a handy video recapping the events thus far:

Update, 3:00 pm: We just spoke to a Columbia student who was at the protest on the Brooklyn Bridge and nearly arrested yesterday. Her friend, also a Columbia student, was arrested yesterday and released early this morning. We’ve edited her account for clarity and to maintain her anonymity, and it appears below.
Click here for her account of what happened on the Brooklyn Bridge

If you give a mouse a cookie...

Rodent Aficionados Michael Menna and Lauren Beck investigate the presence of the conspicuous rodent that occasionally greets you outside the gates of 116th on your way to class.

Last week, Bwog spotted rats on Broadway. While not the only rodents seen in Morningside, the rats at Columbia’s gate may have been the largest. Twelve feet tall and emblazoned with pink spores (thank you, Carpenter’s Union) the rats were stationed at Columbia’s gates to protest what the Carpenter’s Union alleges are questionable construction dealings on the University’s part.

According to the dogmatic one-sheets available beside a sign that reads “SHAME ON THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,” CU leadership dishonorably employs the nonunion contractor, Schulman Industries, for its projects. In doing so, university leadership has committed the no-no of supporting shifty construction companies that do not provide their workers with “the standards they deserve,” fair wages and benefits among them.

In the union’s open letter, they address Columbia’s student body in an attempt to convince students like us to take on President Lee Bollinger and demand that he initiate what they call a “Responsible Bidder Policy” with contractors. Believe what you will about workers’ rights and Columbia’s obligation, we can all admit that the NYCDCC knows how to get students’ attention. Nothing quite shocks the senses like an inflatable rodent, which jarringly synthesizes things we love (moonbounces, balloons, etc.) and things we hate (rats), and seem likely as anything to break through sleeplessness and hangovers toward something like social consciousness. If you’ve seen the rats about before, it’s because unions use them frequently to protest against companies and private citizens who support nonunion construction work. Read more…

The man is going to be so pissed when he reads this.

According to the latest report by the Census Bureau, one in five New York City residents are now living below the poverty line, five percentage points above the 15.1% national average. New York City also holds the biggest income gap of any county in the country, with the top fifth of earners making 38 times as much as the bottom fifth. (NYTimes)

Aptly, the protest against corporate greed on Wall Street rages on despite four arrests yesterday. Internet vigilantes Anonymous vows to avenge recent violence against protestors. (Gothamist, IBTimes)

On the more petty end of the corporate grievances spectrum sit the outraged One Million Moms, who recently struck up a boycott against Ben & Jerry’s for their limited edition “Shweddy Balls” flavored ice-cream. Will the people at Ben & Jerry’s stop at nothing to make a quick buck!? (Slate)

But for five Columbia alums the dream lives on. A quintet of former Furnald roomies are among the founders of Slantshack Jerky, a successful venture peddling grass-fed, free-range, organic, hugged, kissed-every-night-before-bed beef jerky. (WSJ)

Inflammatory scrawl via wikimedia. 

Earlier today, a few dozen students and a handful of reporters gathered in front of EC to rally for Iranian human rights. The event’s organizers, Jake Snider, David Fine, Eric Shapiro, CC’13, and Sam Schube, CC’12, originally intended to protest the CIRCA-Ahmadinejad dinner. But yesterday, CIRCA president, Rhonda Shafei, confirmed that CIRCA would no longer dine with the Iranian leader and had given the tickets away. Spec reported earlier today that the Iranian mission to the UN rescinded the invitation.”While undergraduate students’ plans to dine with Ahmadinejad have reportedly been cancelled, the serial abuse of human rights in Iran shows no sign of stopping,” reads the updated version of the Facebook page for the rally.

Organizers hung a few signs and set up a microphone as Bwog chatted with some folks from Glenn Beck TV. The other day, Beck declared on his TV show, “I find Columbia University to be one of the most arrogant places I’ve ever set foot on. And I don’t do that often unless I’m wearing a disguise.” Burn. In this clip from Glenn Beck’s show (skip to 3:25), audience member in her first year at Columbia, defends her decision to sign up for the dinner: “Who else can say they’ve met this dictator?” Beck takes off his jacket, and explains (in a surprisingly level-headed way, at least compared to his past Columbia-related outbursts) how talking with Ahmadinejad “gives him power” and “legitimizes evil.” It seems the dinner has stirred students across political lines. While the traditionally conservative news outlets covering the rally (Glenn Beck TV, NY Post, Fox News) seemed to support the protesters’ intentions, many students attending the event identify as liberal.

Sam Schube was first to take the mic. “We’re here because we hold the modest, but at the same time really grand hope that we might use our voices to draw attention to those who are silenced, and those who refuse to remain silent in the face to unimaginable hardship,” he announced. Jake Snider introduced featured speaker Shirin Nariman, an Iranian human rights activist and former political prisoner. “To those CIRCA students and others who associate themselves with Ahmadinejad,” she stressed, “your presence represents the principles you believe.” Read more…

Contemplating the purchase of beer pong materials: to Duane Reade, or not to Duane Reade?

What do ping pong balls, alcoholic beverages, and condoms have in common? I’m sure a first year Carmanite can tell you—and now Duane Reade is using strategic (read: subliminal) marketing to save everyone a bit of time. [West Side Rag]

Apologies to all lovers of anarchy, protests on Wall Street, and V for Vendetta; according to a law from 1845, no more than two people in any given party can be wearing masks during a protest. [Gothamist]

Hurricane Tropical Storm Irene will only cost New York City $55 million. Can we even call it a “hurricane” anymore? Irene, we barely knew you. [NYT]

Weinergate may have whipped up a political firestorm—but now the greatest voice of our generation has spoken. Hopefully this means we can finally lay the bizzare scandal to rest and begin the process of healing. [Gawker, GQ]

Fun idea for a “Thinker” drinking game via Wikimedia Commons.

Screen shot of the page, filled with attacks

Hundreds of posts appeared today on Columbia’s Facebook page an unofficial Facebook page for Columbia University unaffiliated with the university declaring support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the Washington Post reports. The furor is apparently a backlash against a Wall Street Journal story that ran this morning, quoting Columbia prof Hamid Dabashi: “This whole arrangement between Syria and Iran is in deep trouble because of the Arab Spring. The geopolitics and the Arab street are changing and it’s leaving them exposed.”

A few sample comments:

♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥ BASHAR AL ASSAD ♥

The Syrian people is the only one who has the right to grant legitimacy to the president, who leads his country and is not entitled to Mrs. Clinton to give legitimacy to one or the impartiality of it.

All syrian people love Bashar Al Assad

Apologies are beginning to appear on the page, such as:

On behalf of the Syrian people, please accept my most sincere apologies for the charade taking place on your page today. This is the doing of the farcical “Syrian Electronic Army”, a Facebook page that has made it its mission to mass-spam pages of various foreign newspapers, universities and international bodies with endless broken-English pro-Assad platitudes. It has been closed down by Facebook over and over but it keeps being resurrected by the same group of pro-Assad imbeciles. -cont’d

But by now the stream has slowed a little and exchanges such as this are adding a touch of humor:

Brave like these guys

A student newspaper gives “a solid fuck-you” to the administration at La Salle, after another dubiously motivated erotic experience in the classroom: “‘[One stripper] was just kind of laying on top of [the professor],’ a witness explained.” (NY Mag, ABC Local)

Students at University of Wisconsin are planning a march to stop bullying in schools and universities, specifically aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. And hipsters. Okay not hipsters, but stop picking on them, guys. (Chicago Tribune)

Students at California State University Sacramento protested state budget cuts until they were made to leave the premises by riot police. All 27 people then left the building. (News 10)

MTV is looking to honor other awesome students. Especially hipsters. (Dallas News)

Not entirely out of place picture via Wikimedia