Teach-In Examines Occupy Movement

Whitney Bashaw, Editor-in-Chief

SUNY Oneonta may be 3,000 miles from UC Berkeley, but on Wednesday, November 9, students and professors gathered in IRC 1 to try out a cornerstone of campus activism, the teach-in. This is the latest manifestation of Oneonta students showing their solidarity with the occupy movements around the country and world.
The teach-in started at 1 p.m. and in the span of three and a half hours, eight professors from varied disciplines lectured and presented on aspects of the Occupy Wall St. movement, globalization, politics and the nature protest movements in general. Professors from the sociology, philosophy, communications and political science departments, among others, sat at a panel in front of a dirty and chaotic chalkboard with the words “TEACH-IN” written on it as students, other professors and community members filled the lecture hall. Student attendance waxed and waned but the mood was enduringly attentive.
Students Alex Lyakhov and Michael Lindquist coordinated the event. Their motivation was to sustain a dialogue about the movement and create a space for people to learn more and come together. When they began organizing the teach-in, Lyakhov and Lindquist expected it to be two hours long, but the amount of enthusiastic interest expressed by professors who wanted to get on the list to speak made them extend the times.
Among the subjects touched on, student debt, social media, past protests, wealth inequality and fracking were emphasized. Members of Occupy Otsego also came to show their support and encourage people to join them downtown on Saturday afternoons.

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