By Lisa Conley
Round Table online editor-in-chief

The streets of Denver are a long way from Middletown, Md., yet that’s where Mike Nail finds himself these days.  Nail, a 2003 Middletown High School graduate, is involved in the Occupy Denver movement, going to the general assemblies and big demonstrations on the weekends.

Occupy Wall Street, an ongoing series of demonstrations against high unemployment, corporate greed, and social and economic inequality, began Sept. 17 in New York City’s Zuccotti Park but has since spread to cities across the globe.

Nail said he supports the movement due to its “systemic opposition to greed in its many manifestations in American society.” 

“We are having the richest 1 percent making the decisions that determine how the other 99 percent will live,” said Nail, “and people are surprised that we don’t have policies that protect and promote the social and economic welfare of the population.”

Rachel Rapp, MHS senior, recently visited Occupy Philadelphia and talked to some of the protestors.

“People are frustrated because they’re realizing that the American Dream is just that: a dream,” said Rapp.

In cities such as Oakland, that frustration has materialized in the form of riots.

MHS senior Maggie Brown said it’s sad that the violence in Oakland has given the Occupy movement a negative connotation because she believes their message is a positive one.

Brown also said it’s sad that most high school students would “rather watch reality TV shows than something that’s actually important.”

Michael Malafarina, MHS national and global issues teacher, encourages students to pay attention to the Occupy movement because it’s the “largest social movement of this generation.”

“It’s the first true grass roots movement in that it’s fundamentally leaderless,” said Malafarina, “so it’s important that students understand it from a historical perspective.”           

Equipped with that knowledge, students will gain the perspective they need to judge the movement on their own; perhaps Nail will find himself in the company of fellow MHS graduates.