That being said though, the local ‘Occupy UMass’ movement baffles me. I, as much as any other American, want to see the greed of corporate America end, but pitching tents in front of Goodell and marching into Whitmore is not the way to do it. Everyone is upset with the fee hikes that have happened in recent years around here, and as someone with two unemployed parents I understand that money is tight. But you chose to attend this university. You made the conscience decision to apply here, and in doing so inherently understood that there would be fees to pay. Protesting against an institution that you had (and still have) the option not to fund sounds a little ridiculous to me. And it is certainly a whole lot different than protesting against bank CEOs who have given themselves huge raises using government bailout money that ultimately came from you the taxpayer.

I support the people in the ‘Occupy’ movement across the country, and as I’ve said I applaud everyone involved for exercising their rights as Americans. Throughout the last two months, the nationwide (and even worldwide) ‘Occupy’ movement has been criticized for a lack of singularity. But despite this, and despite the distance between them, the movement as a whole has managed to influence corporate America and it shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. I implore the students in the ‘Occupy UMass’ movement to think about what their true cause really is and what they and the rest of the ‘Occupy’ movement can do to create change in America.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of The Amherst Wire.

Over 100 Occupy Wall Street protesters from the Amherst area colleges and community rallied at the Bank of America branch downtown forcing its temporary shutdown on the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 17.

The protesters entered the Bank of America en masse at approximately 1:30 pm in an attempt to close bank accounts. Protesters rallied inside the bank, chanting “Bank of America, Bad for America,” before Amherst Police were called to the scene and ushered the protesters out the front door. The doors to the bank were then shut and a metal security gate was lowered.

The protesters continued their rally outside before moving into the streets and then into the TD Bank branch across the street at approximately 2 pm. Protesters entered the bank in much the same fashion as Bank of America and rallied inside before police were called and protesters were asked to leave.

The protest then continued throughout the downtown Amherst streets and onto Amherst College before heading back to UMass Amherst where the rally originally began that afternoon.

The rally was held in solidarity with the Nov. 17 national Day of Action called by Occupy Wall Street marking the two month anniversary of the movement and attended by participants from Occupy UMass, Occupy Amherst, Occupy Hampshire, Students Against Mass Incarceration, Smith College Occupies Wall Street, and Decolonize/Occupy Amherst College.

Check out our photo galleries of the rally here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117273127224141022016/OccupyUMassRallyBankOfAmericaShutdown
https://picasaweb.google.com/117273127224141022016/OccupyUMassRallyDayOfAction