On the corner of Grand River Avenue and Divison Street, Jack Taylor reached into his brown satchel to hand out flyers about Occupy Lansing, a movement bringing Occupy Wall Street to the area.
“We’re just expressing our concerns of the political, social and economic concerns of the moment,” said Taylor, a graduate student and an organizer of Occupy Lansing. “Massive amounts of economic inequality is a problem from my perspective.”
Occupy Lansing, an event to provide an outlet for those frustrated about the current economic situation, will take place at 10 a.m. Oct. 15 on the lawn of the Capitol.
“The lack of essential message can be good, because then the movement can represent diverse perspectives,” Taylor said.
The event spring boarded off of the Occupy Wall Street movements currently taking place in New York City. Hundreds of people are protesting against corporate greed and social inequality along Wall Street, according to CNN.
Social relations and policy senior Mitchell Rivard spent Saturday and Sunday in New York City participating in Occupy Wall Street.
“All the people who I joined this weekend, we represent the 99 percent,” Rivard said, referring to the middle and lower classes in the country. “We, the 99 percent, need to say enough is enough. We need to hold these corporations and banks accountable.”
He said he is excited to see the Occupy Wall Street movement branch to other cities, including Lansing.
“It’s great to see citizens stepping up through a grassroots action to get their voices heard,” Rivard said.
Lansing is not the only city involved in this movement. Grand Rapids was “occupied” beginning Oct. 8 and an Occupy Detroit is being organized.
Philosophy senior Kevin Lynch is also one of the coordinators of Occupy Lansing and hopes the movement will last.
“The idea is to stay there, to have some endurance,” Lynch said.
The event will have a general assembly to decide how to organize the event, Lynch said. No definitive plans are yet in place, and both Taylor and Lynch stressed they do not speak for the movement as a whole.
The group is having a planning meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at The NorthStar Center, 106 Lathrop St., in Lansing.
“It’s direct action,” Lynch said. “It’s inspiring because nothing like this has come around in a while.”
Biochemistry and molecular biology/biotechnology freshman Dominique Pompei does not see how an event such as Occupy Lansing will bring about change.
“I don’t think it’s going to do much of anything, especially in Lansing,” Pompei said. “It seems like a hassle.”
But Taylor still feels an event such as Occupy Lansing is important.
“I think the expression is key, that people aren’t going to let themselves be walked on,” Taylor said.
“I think that’s a pretty good start.”
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