Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Create Change for the 99%

By this point, the fat cats of Wall Street have become familiar with the masses of Occupiers settled at the foot of their office buildings. Starting today, however, Georgetown will get a taste of the demonstrations, as students begin marching from the front gates of campus to join protesters at McPherson Square.

As media attention dies down, the Occupy protests are reaching a crossroads. The demonstrations went global largely because the movement’s ideals resonate with a wide range of people. They also have brought attention to the astounding social and economic inequality within our borders. With the greatest income disparities since the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, many voters are feeling disenfranchised and weak. And all of these frustrations are magnified by the dip in the economy and a stagnating unemployment rate.

Yet many politicians and media personalities have criticized the demonstrations for their lack of focus and cohesion. The protests have become an outlet for Americans’ disillusionment with the status quo, but they must be synthesized into a single, digestible platform; as the students coming face to face with the Occupiers today, we should be the ones to do just that, by interpreting and addressing these nationwide concerns.

By virtue of our attending a prestigious university in the United States, we theoretically rank in the top 1 percent of the population in terms of education and opportunity. A Georgetown education will enable many students to enter the top tier of their career, whether it is business, government, education, medicine or academia. Often, alumni blaze a trail toward the top percent, in terms of political influence, academic contributions or even post-tax income.

Indeed, we are the 1 percent that is able to make something actionable of this nebulous movement. Over the course of our academic careers, we are exposed to the Jesuit values of service, community and justice. It is these values that lead many students to volunteer in the District and eventually guide our work in the careers we choose. What’s more, our coursework allows this knack for social justice to converge with a nuanced understanding of the economic and political forces driving the world.

As Georgetown students, our challenge is twofold: to make sense of the world while making it better. As a nascent and tenuous Occupy movement begs definition, we have an opportunity to tackle both. Let’s start the conversation.

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