This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.
To the organizers and participants of OccupyNU:
I do not understand you. What are you “protesting?” You’ve set up four tents in Krentzman and bear slogans on cardboard stolen from YouTube sensation “The Rent Is Too Damn High” guy and other obscure proclamations like “Our Money, Our Choice.”
My question to you is this: What are you choosing to do with the money you’ve invested in Northeastern? You chose to come here, did you not? Who is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to attend one of the most selective and prestigious universities in the country?
If you’re claiming the tuition is too high, you’re right. I’m pretty sure every college student in the country would agree with that sentiment. But the costs of higher education haven’t significantly increased since you made your decision to attend NU. Appropriating blame to the university for the cost of your education is unfounded and unfair. Every undergraduate student currently on campus made the decision to come here knowing that we were in the midst of an economic crisis.
While you’re complaining about tuition costs, do some simple math. Each class you take per semester costs roughly $4 thousand. Divide that by each class period and you’re looking at hundreds of dollars per class session. How many hundreds of YOUR money have you frivolously wasted by occupying the quad instead of going to class? How much do you think it’s costing the student body to have your undefined protests monitored by police officers working overtime?
I understand being frustrated by a bleak job market and the climate of the economy. I just don’t see how camping out on the quad is a catalyst for change. It seems counterproductive to establish a political movement and not have a definitive set of demands. I would hope that everyone involved with this movement has been following the developments of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and other similar “Occupy” protests that have broken out nationwide. What have they achieved after two months, other than having to be forcibly removed from their camps?
The OccupyNU protest, slated to last only 48 hours before participants retreat back to their dorms or apartments (because, hey, you’re paying for them!) hopes only to “educate” the Northeastern community. Educate us about what, exactly? Any one who hasn’t been living under a rock (or on a mound of grass in the middle of campus) has surely been inundated with coverage of the Occupy Boston movement rooted in Dewey Square. For anyone who felt some sort of solidarity with the national protests, they easily could have taken the T down there to see what it was all about and learn about their non-requests and non-demands. The only education I wish to receive is the one that, I am in fact, paying for.
For any of us to say that we are a part of the “99 percent” is a statement that I find laughable at best. If you want to talk in terms of percentages, why don’t you look up the percentage of students who are admitted to Northeastern every year. It isn’t exactly a high proportion of the thousands upon thousands of applicants who vie for admittance. Think of everyone who got a rejection letter in the mail and how they would gladly assume the debts of a Northeastern education because they know exactly what that’s worth.
I urge all of the participants to remember why they chose to come here in the first place. You knew that a Northeastern degree sets you apart from an entire nation filled with post grads clamoring for jobs. If you’ve lost sight of that, or if your own life circumstances have convinced you otherwise, you can always withdraw. Another student will gladly take your spot, regardless of the price tag.
For the other side of the argument, read Hana Nobel’s article
Photos: BostInnovation, CBSBoston