Thirty-one of the expected 75 students from across North Carolina gathered outside Progress Energy in downtown Raleigh Friday to protest Bank of America before marching to the Wachovia building and then on to the state legislature to protest the current solution to the economic crisis.
The students gathered outside Progress Energy because of the construction going on in front of Bank of America.
After the speeches outside Progress Energy directed at Bank of America, the protesters marched up Fayetteville Street to the Wachovia building chanting to support their cause.
Chants such as “Bail out the people not the banks,” “foreclose the war, not our homes,” “no justice, no peace,” and “fight for jobs and education, not for banks and corporations,” could be heard as the protesters marched.
The protesters picketed outside the Wachovia building for about 30 minutes before marching to the legislature.
Security officers mostly filled the building, with a few workers watching the protest. Everyone in the lobby had their employers tell them not to talk to the press. However, a security officer in the building said the protesters could do whatever they wished outside because they don’t have jurisdiction outside, but the protesters could not enter the building.
After the protesters left the front of the building, workers emerged from the building. One woman asked what the people were protesting and said she didn’t even know there was a protest going on.
Ryan Thomson, a junior in political science and one of the organizers of the protest, said later in the weekend there wasn’t much more he could have done to get the message out.
“We tried to make ourselves heard and what happened happened,” he said.
When the protesters arrived at the legislature, three police officers were standing guard directly in front of the building and more were in the vicinity. The protesters continued their chants.
As the protest was wrapping up, one protester yelled out, “Were we heard today?” and received such a small response from the crowd, it could barely be heard from across the street.
After Thomson gave his speech outside Progress Energy, he had to look around at the crowd to get a response.
Even Thomson was hesitant to say their voices were heard.
“I like to think we were, but I don’t think anything will change,” he said. “Well, we tried.”
One of the police officers outside the legislature said the only people in the building were cops and the representatives left Thursday night.
The protest also started 30 minutes late to allow the people from Rocky Mount and Charlotte, who ultimately failed to arrive, according to Thomson.
Madeline Miller, a senior at Durham Academy, said she didn’t think it numbed the protest’s message.
“We made a necessary time change,” she said.
Miller also acknoweldged the protest wouldn’t get to the legislature building until after 5 p.m. but insisted picketing outside an empty building wouldn’t be for just symbolism but to build support for their cause.
As for the low turnout, Thomson said it’s hard to have a certain number of people present, but the potential could have been much higher if more people had shown up.
He also said he was disappointed that hundreds of N.C. State students didn’t show up.
“It shows [N.C. State] students aren’t connected with their tuition and that their parents are paying for it,” Thomson said. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
