A few weeks ago, I blogged about an interview I had with the BBC about Occupy London and Occupy St. Paul’s Cathedral. Who’d have thought I’d now be blogging about Occupy in my own back yard?! Yes, my own back yard. What began as a protest at and against Wall Street, has spread globally, and has now appeared at Princeton University.
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications
I shouldn’t really be surprised. In recent decades, Princeton has sent large numbers of its graduates to jobs on Wall Street at the big name investment banks. Every fall, these banks make pilgrimages to Princeton to recruit a new cohort, where these coveted jobs are highly sought after by many of Princeton’s brightest engineering, math, computer science, econ, and other majors. According to the most recent graduate survey from Princeton’s Career Services, financial services was the largest full-time employer of Princeton graduates.
This otherwise quiet and happy mating ritual had a surprise interruption this month. At two recent recruiting events, one by JPMorgan Chase and another by Goldman Sachs, members of Occupy Princeton attended these events, disguised in full business attire as if they were eager applicants. They dispersed themselves and sat in different parts of the room. During the Q&A session at the end of the recruiting pitch, the Occupy Princeton students sprung their surprise on the startled recruiters and fellow students. They began a call-and-response type speech, starting with Occupy’s trademark “mic check,” and lambasted the banks for their role in recent financial crises. At the Goldman Sachs recruiting event, there was an interesting twist in that after critiquing Goldman Sachs, they went on to challenge their fellow classmates:
“Dear Fellow Princeton Students, we are here to ask you for a moment of reflection. Deciding on a future career path is difficult. It deserves serious introspection. When you came to Princeton as a wide-eyed freshman, you probably didn’t dream of working at Goldman Sachs. What happened? We are all privileged to have made it to Princeton. However, our talents will be wasted if we send all our best and brightest to Wall Street.“
Princeton’s motto is “In the nation’s service and service to all nations.” Some, like the members of Occupy
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications
Princeton, would argue that sending such a large number of students to these lucrative Wall Street positions violates that motto.
Is it wrong that our “best and brightest” go to Wall Street? Or is any position or company ”redeemable,” and with the capacity to be in the nation’s service and service to all nations ? What do you think? Please give us your comments below. Thank you!
I’ve been trying to think of a fitting Thanksgiving message to post, to help remind us that Thanksgiving it is not about eating turkey or shopping on Black Friday. It’s about being filled with thanks for what we do have, and pausing to give thanks to God as the ultimate provider of everything…
Occupy… Princeton?
December 13, 2011 by faithandworkinitiative
A few weeks ago, I blogged about an interview I had with the BBC about Occupy London and Occupy St. Paul’s Cathedral. Who’d have thought I’d now be blogging about Occupy in my own back yard?! Yes, my own back yard. What began as a protest at and against Wall Street, has spread globally, and has now appeared at Princeton University.
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications
I shouldn’t really be surprised. In recent decades, Princeton has sent large numbers of its graduates to jobs on Wall Street at the big name investment banks. Every fall, these banks make pilgrimages to Princeton to recruit a new cohort, where these coveted jobs are highly sought after by many of Princeton’s brightest engineering, math, computer science, econ, and other majors. According to the most recent graduate survey from Princeton’s Career Services, financial services was the largest full-time employer of Princeton graduates.
This otherwise quiet and happy mating ritual had a surprise interruption this month. At two recent recruiting events, one by JPMorgan Chase and another by Goldman Sachs, members of Occupy Princeton attended these events, disguised in full business attire as if they were eager applicants. They dispersed themselves and sat in different parts of the room. During the Q&A session at the end of the recruiting pitch, the Occupy Princeton students sprung their surprise on the startled recruiters and fellow students. They began a call-and-response type speech, starting with Occupy’s trademark “mic check,” and lambasted the banks for their role in recent financial crises. At the Goldman Sachs recruiting event, there was an interesting twist in that after critiquing Goldman Sachs, they went on to challenge their fellow classmates:
“Dear Fellow Princeton Students, we are here to ask you for a moment of reflection. Deciding on a future career path is difficult. It deserves serious introspection. When you came to Princeton as a wide-eyed freshman, you probably didn’t dream of working at Goldman Sachs. What happened? We are all privileged to have made it to Princeton. However, our talents will be wasted if we send all our best and brightest to Wall Street.“
Princeton’s motto is “In the nation’s service and service to all nations.” Some, like the members of Occupy
Photo: Princeton University, Office of Communications
Princeton, would argue that sending such a large number of students to these lucrative Wall Street positions violates that motto.
Is it wrong that our “best and brightest” go to Wall Street? Or is any position or company ”redeemable,” and with the capacity to be in the nation’s service and service to all nations ? What do you think? Please give us your comments below. Thank you!
Posted in Commentary | 11 Comments »