Occupy Harvard gets the old college jeer

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:25:00 +0000

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It’s the height of recruiting season at Harvard College, and the big draws are, as always, the banks, the hedge funds and the consultants. A quick look at the Office of Career Services’ recruiting event schedule is revealing. This past week, there were internship open houses for the top-tier consulting firms McKinsey and Bain, the private equity powerhouse Blackstone, and banks from JPMorgan to Barclay’s to Citigroup. This week Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund, Morgan Stanley and Bain Capital -- the private equity firm Mitt Romney founded -- are coming to Cambridge.

So when 800 students and sympathizers -- demanding fair treatment for Harvard workers, divestment from corporations that abuse workers' rights, and other actions to reduce the university’s contribution to economic inequality -- erected tents in Harvard Yard on Wednesday night and began the Occupy Harvard movement (the media working group of which, in the interest of full disclosure, I am a participant), they didn’t enter the most hospitable environment.

Salon.com > Dylan Matthews

Occupy Harvard gets the old college jeer