HorsesAss.Org

Students Converge At Obama Office To Reclaim Voice

by — ,

A photo from out march, right outside of the Obama for America office.

Cross-posted from http://occupywallst.org/article/students-converge-obama-office-reclaim-voice/

via StudentPower2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Students from across the country marched from Ohio State University Student Union to President Obama’s campaign office to hold a press conference yesterday, calling into question the injustices of our current economic and political system. In an era where our political process is gridlocked by the influence of money and corporate power, our society has systematically diverted resources from the bottom to the top to fund a frenzy of profit seeking.

The demonstration highlighted how our electoral system and politicians have failed our youth on the critical issues of education, gender equality, racial justice, environmental sustainability, and basic respect for human rights. Neither party has the audacity to confront these injustices, nor do they attempt to facilitate any type of connection with us on these issues, which disproportionately affect women, LGBTQ people, youth, and people of color.

Akin Olla, an organizer from New Jersey, states: “It is important to recognize that not only are racism and discrimination against people of color still present in the United States, but they are playing a huge factor in the future for the youth of color by limiting our access to education, personal liberty and the right to feel safe in our own communities.”

Although women and LGBTQ people have won notable gains in recent years, Raquel Valesquez of Arizona gets to the heart of how the current system is one of structural inequality: “As we speak, women and LGBTQ people are refusing to accept the old idea of what our rights should be and are demanding change towards the true needs of our communities. As we are denied security in the workplace and safety in the streets; as our survivors of violence are blamed for their traumas while perpetrators are excused; while the state tightens its grip on our bodies through criminalization, incarceration, and abortion bans, we demand more than the right to military and marriage.”

Along with gender and sexuality injustice, we have learned that no matter who we vote for, we cannot avoid the controlling interests of corporations such as Goldman Sachs and Exxon Mobil dominating our political process. The corporate framework dictates infinite growth and accumulation of profit no matter what the environmental and human costs are. Tabitha Skervin of Michigan State University sums it up by saying, “You can preach economic growth all day but there are no jobs on a dying planet.”

The United States currently maintains a massive military machine responsible for the inhuman attempt to maintain and increase domination over the planet. We are outraged that more than $1 trillion of the annual federal budget is allocated towards sustaining the military-industrial complex instead of socially beneficial services such as accessible education. Within our borders, youth are growing up in a militarized society. The United States military targets low income and youth of color with manipulative promises of enlistment being the doorway to education and enrichment. We do not condemn individual soldiers whose bodies becomes tools of the state, used and then discarded to suffer untreated from the traumatic consequences of their service. Aislinn Bauer from New York City states, “We believe that the massive expenditures of taxpayer money should be redirected towards enhancing socially beneficial services like accessible education rather than furthering the interests of multinational corporations such as Big Oil and agribusiness and monitoring and criminalizing our own population. Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!”

We are now raising our voices to join the rallying cry of student movements across the world, addressing common global grievances, and resisting a system that does not serve the majority of us. Noting that access to higher education has become increasingly out of reach for much of the population due to skyrocketing tuition and burdensome loans, Lainie Rini of Ohio State University compares our education system to a factory: “Our current education system denies anyone but the privileged access to quality education. It is farming students for profit rather than being a space for inquiry and thought.”

The current situation has demonstrated that we cannot passively depend upon our leaders to save our society. We call for American youth to take action much like students across the globe in places like Quebec, Mexico, Chile, Spain, and Puerto Rico, who are mobilizing to demand their rights. Democracy cannot exist without demonstration and debate in public spaces. This fall, regardless of where we lie on the political spectrum, it is crucial that we come together on campuses across the country to reclaim our future before it’s too late. Join us November 14th-21st as part of a global week of student action, demonstrating that we in the U.S. are committed to global justice and the international student movement. Here. Us. Now.

WEB: www.studentpower2012.org
TWITTER: @studentpower12 #HereUsNow
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/StudentPower2012

Comments

  2. 2

    Wow. Literally dozens of people attended this rally. Obama failed to acknowledge them and no newspaper covered it. This is merely a “Press Release” by Occupy Wall Street scammers.

  3. 3

    I’m shocked, this was posted at 12:33 PM and by 12:45 PM there were not six comments by Serial “Ridicule the looks of an African American girl but I’m not a racist” Conservative doing his level best to marginalize and denigrate their youth and optimism and goals.

  5. 5

    That’s nice. Students converge on Obummer’s office because they recognize the lies and they feel ripped off by Obummer.

  6. 6

    re 5: Like the way he tried to take away the Pell Grants and increase the interest rate on student loans?

  7. 7

    It’s so hard to upgrade to an iPad3 and an iPhone5 on a student budget.

    They should just give them to us. And let us all graduate debt-free. And give us jobs. And stuff.

  8. 8

    @7 Serially Too Dim,

    I thought you were going to go and pull your head out?

    Don’t you want to scream some other non-sequitur at these students? How about “Get off of my lawn!”

  10. 10

    @ 8

    I might ask them why they don’t just wait for Obama himself to be somewhere in the area, and make some sort of large disturbance so that they’re noticed by the MSM and he has to address their presence in question.

    From what I hear, OH is a battleground state and both candidates will be there quite a bit.

    Or do they want to make a point, but not put their leader in an awkward position while doing so?

  11. 11

    I wish them luck at changing the world. Forty-odd years ago, the college-age youths of my generation worried about being sent to die in Vietnam. Not a damn thing has changed since then. The one-percenters still run everything, and lots of young people still don’t vote. (Back then, they couldn’t; 18-year-olds can vote now because of Vietnam.) These kids did get involved in 2008, and they have to again in 2012, or the fascists will be right back in business. It never ends.

  13. 13

    Does anyone think our students will converge on Obama HQ and protest following the lead of our Reality TV megastar, Sarah Palin?

    See, Sarah
    “Palling-Around w/Terrorists”, Proclaimer of “Death Panels!”, “Obama’s Policies Returning America to SLAVERY”, Not eveh going to hold elective office again,
    Palin has uncovered yet another Obama travesty.

    Vice President Joe Biden’s remark that Republicans “are going to put y’all back in chains” was “disgusting”.

    And I bet she is going to tell it from the mountain at the Republican National Convention!
    Oh yeah, she’s not invited to the convention.

    Well, John McCain is going to speak at the convention!
    What does the man who will best be remembered for his selection of Sarah Palin to be his running mate have to say?

    John McCain said Wednesday he thinks “it might be wise” for President Barack Obama to replace Vice President Joe Biden on the ticket with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.”

    Seriously, who owns the screenplay rights to the Gekko/Galt campaign farce?

  14. 14

    Jimmy Carter is speaking at the DNC.

    I’m not sure if he’s an improvement over the lineup they had in 2004.

    But I was glad to learn he’ll be front and center.

  17. 17

    “But I was glad to learn he’ll be front and center.”

    Quite unlike the way you treat GWB and Palin. It’s like you’re ashamed of them and don’t want them to be seen. Which is fine as you should be ashamed of them. One brought the country to ruin and the other spews hatred at America as though she was some foreign terrorist.

  18. 18

    @14 Shrub isn’t speaking at the RNC. In fact, he won’t attend. My guess is they not only didn’t invite him, but told him they’d call Security if he came.

  22. 22

    7. Serial Conservative spews:
    It’s so hard to upgrade to an iPad3 and an iPhone5 on a student budget.

    They should just give them to us. And let us all graduate debt-free. And give us jobs. And stuff.

    08/15/2012 AT 2:51 PM

    spot on.

  30. 30

    The current situation has demonstrated that we cannot passively depend upon our leaders to save our society. We call for American youth to take action much like students across the globe in places like Quebec, Mexico, Chile, Spain, and Puerto Rico,

    Ever seen West Side Story?

  33. 33

    Hey, speaking of protests, USA Today says

    This Congress could be least productive since 1947

    You know, that Congress GOP nominee for president, Willard M. Romney says that House Republican Congressman Paul Privatize Social Security! Ryan leads.

    Statistics just another liberal conspiracy?

    Vote Gekko/Galt and win a Medicare coupon!

    DISCLAIMER: $6000 dollar or greater cost of your Medicare Coupon not provided.
    GUARANTEE: All monetary benefits provided to your wealthier betters shall only require more from you, moochers

  34. 34

    @11 Roger,

    Those students of the 60s had to do a whole lot of screaming to move us the distance we came. I applaud these students for engaging in what was our Democracy.

    But the window on democratic government is rapidly closing in our country. As you noted, in the 1960s 18 year old students (and soldiers!) did not have the right to vote. Yesterday, they did.

    Today a vast number of Republican controlled and dominated state governments have exercised a coordinated ALEC campaign of voter suppression.

    I’m afraid that simple and relatively insignificantly populated protests won’t protect the rights so many others fought for and delivered.

    Pity the people of Pennsylvania, home of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, for them it may already be too late.

    And all the while, Romney dog whistles himself across the nation.

  35. 35

    I see that Romney’s latest “plan” is to start balancing the budget by cutting off PBS and other things Real Americans love but right-wing extremists like Bob hate. Odd, but by Bob’s own reasoning, Mitt shouldn’t do this because, as with raising taxes on the rich, this wouldn’t solve the problem. Right, Bob?

  36. 36

    Who is Roya and WTF is the topic of this thread? It reads like some OWS manifesto. WTF kind of topic is that?

  37. 37

    I hope they ask him where 6 trillion went, with unemployment between 8.5% and 15%, the economy skidding into a recession, and a massive fiscal cliff approaching.

  38. 38

    re 5: Like the way he tried to take away the Pell Grants and increase the interest rate on student loans?

    headless, he set the tone of the country. He claimed he was for all Americans. Nope he was for his buds. The college age see through this charlatan.

Can’t Bring Yourself to Type the Word “Ass”?

Eager to share our brilliant political commentary and blunt media criticism, but too genteel to link to horsesass.org? Well, good news, ladies: we also answer to HASeattle.com, because, you know, whatever. You're welcome!

Follow Goldy

[iire_social_icons]

HA Commenting Policy

It may be hard to believe from the vile nature of the threads, but yes, we have a commenting policy. Comments containing libel, copyright violations, spam, blatant sock puppetry, and deliberate off-topic trolling are all strictly prohibited, and may be deleted on an entirely arbitrary, sporadic, and selective basis. And repeat offenders may be banned! This is my blog. Life isn’t fair.