I'm not going to say that I disagree with the Occupy Wall Street protests, because I don't. There's a legitimate reason why our students are flocking to downtown Manhattan: a concern that our democracy has become an oligarchy and that the fate of the American middle class has been arbitrarily and recklessly decided on Wall Street for years now. Incidents of police brutality are only making the convictions behind these protests all the more resolute, and the situation's been escalating for weeks and spreading across the country. Columbia and Barnard students have been eager to join the movement, a few of them arrested for doing so. Their aims are, for the most part, selfless and admirable.
But before heading down to join the throngs of protesters, I feel that there are several things we must consider.
