Occupy Brock – doing it right

"A person is smart, people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it," said K, played by Tommy Lee Jones, in the 1997 film Men In Black. Cynical? Maybe. True? Absolutely.

One of the characteristics of Brock University is that its student body seems to be, relatively, as apathetic as Canada on the whole is about politics and the issues (13 per cent of Brock students voted in last year's Brock University Student Union election).

However, a positive effect of this is that whatever comes to Canada a little late comes to Brock even later. This, for once, can be used to our advantage.

On Feb. 1 2012, Brock will be hosting an Occupy movement right in the Schmon Tower lobby (apparently, whether they like it or not). This has been advertised through leaflets and posters that use fun and vague buzz-terms like "tuition fees" and "budget cuts".

This Occupy Movement, like other trends and initiatives, has been adopted by Brock students a few months too late: it is old news and isn't all that exciting as far as movements go. However, this is where Brock's lateness in the issue will come in handy.

What Brock students now have the chance to do is learn from the mistakes of past Occupy movements before their own even starts up. This is a prime opportunity that should not be wasted. And for it to work, you (yes, literally you reading this), are going to have to do something about it.

The main issues with the Occupy movement so far are as follows: they have no plan or message, they lost control, or they gave up too easily.

Unfortunately Occupy Brock has already had some trouble with cementing a message to their movement. The posters have very general student platitudes on them, instead of pinpointing problems within our school and going after them.

You can help by making sure you know something before you go to Occupy. Look into BUSU elections, or read over the last Brock financial report. Did you know that Brock expects to make close to $1.5 million profit with their Parking Services this year? Does that sound like too much? Find out for yourself,  because for every person who actually knows why they are at Occupy Brock, the better it will do.

The fact is, activism for activism's sake is no better than an ignorant middle-class white kid wearing a Ché Guevara shirt, or  a Canadian wearing an Obama "Hope" campaign shirt; it is, at best, bandwagon loyalty, and at worst, self-indulgent masturbation.

The next problem is the loss of control. Just this past weekend on Jan. 29, Occupy Oakland ended in a riot, which saw many injured and no progress made.

While I doubt this will be an issue for Brock students, keep in mind that Penn State students rioted in defence of their football coach that protected a pedophile.  Anything can happen, so keep a handle on things by thinking like a person, not a crowd.

Last, a few Occupy movements have simply died out too quickly. This is all on you guys; there is no secret or activist adage that will make hanging out in the Schmon Tower lobby any more exciting.

The fact of the matter is, if you actually have an issue you're concerned with, let others know at Brock by vocalizing yourself honestly and fairly, and by standing your ground when they won't listen. That's all anyone could ask of you, and to be honest, over the lifetime of the Occupy movement we've seen many examples of far less.