Ohio University remained “occupied” Tuesday as demonstrations and "Free School" lectures continued at the top of Morton Hill.
Akil Houston spoke to a crowd of about 30 demonstrators
today about capitalism, banking, the media and students' role in Occupy Wall Street.
“In a lot of students' minds, a protester is someone who just rebels against anything,” said Houston, a professor of African American Studies. “A lot of students think, ‘I’m not like them.'
"
Today, there are so many distractions like iPads, iPods, Netflix.
Those distractions make it difficult for students to get involved in something that may not have tangible results."
Houston argued that the problems Occupy Wall Street and Occupy OhioU protesters are raising do affect students.
“Students are being asked to pay increased tuition charges and banking charges,” he said. “The general sense is that more money is going to come out of their pockets, and they will come out of college with more loans to pay back."
Houston called on young people to become more media-literate so they can have a better understanding of the underlying problems in today's society.
“Young people should seek out other sources to become better consumers of media,” he said. “They must do this for us to have a reevaluation of our priorities.”
jj360410@ohiou.edu
