An organization known as Occupy Wall Street has attracted a multitude of diverse individuals united by their frustrations and discontent with “corporatocracy.” Since the protests began on Sept. 17, activists of all kinds have occupied Zuccotti Square in New York’s Financial District, using performances and music to attract passersby. While some cried out against paying off student loans, the bailout of the major banks and income inequality, others called for the radical end of the combustion engine of the Federal Reserve. This kind of scattershot approach to the organization’s message left many in the media confused and critical of the movement as a whole.

As students and participatory citizens in our democracy, it is extremely important to realize that this movement toward socioeconomic change should not be overlooked. And as always with grassroots movements, there are always fringe extremists and agitators who distract from the main objective of the movement. It is necessary, however, to focus on the collective goal of the protest. Given our location, it is easy to get a first-hand account of the current events without media bias by simply attending or observing them.

Implementing direct democracy ideals with the hope of creating a truly transparent and representative movement, the Occupy Wall Street movement appears to have a common objective, but there remains concern that leadership is lacking and will be necessary if further progress is to be seen from this movement.

We hope to see this movement grow and, if that is the case, it will likely be necessary to see more leadership in order to have a unified goal. Without proper leadership, the demands and actions of protestors will not be realized, akin to the Take Back NYU movement of 2009. The protestors want people to recognize that they do not have to stay content with the status quo or resort to apathy — they have the ability to vocalize their united concerns and initiate change. We feel that it is too early to judge the outcome of the protest, but we hope that other states will follow suit and its future endeavors will be successful.