'Occupy Eric Cantor' protesters will march to Huntsman Hall

This Friday, Penn students will join other “Occupy Eric Cantor” protesters in a march from City Hall to Huntsman Hall.

The event, organized by advocacy group Keystone Progress, is a protest against House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who will be speaking in Huntsman at 4:30 p.m. As of press time, the Facebook event for the march had 184 attendees.

Other groups, such as the the Occupy Philly movement, are also involved in the protest. Occupy Philly began on Oct. 6. with the protest growing in size last weekend. Three hundred tents were erected outside City Hall on Saturday, according to an Occupy Philly statement.

Cantor was invited to speak by the Wharton Leadership Lecture Series. According to an aide quoted in Politico, Cantor will discuss income inequality and how Washington can help people from “a single working mom” to “a small business owner” move up the economic ladder.

Liberal and Professional Studies senior Jessica Herzfeld, who will be joining the protest, said, “I disagree with Cantor politically.”

“I don’t like the subject matter of the speech,” Herzfeld said, adding that she thinks “he’s not being honest when he’s talking about his Republican plan for changing economic security.”

Herzfeld, who plans to make a sign and march from City Hall, pointed out that Cantor initially spoke out against the Occupy movement, calling it a mob.

Now, “he’s trying to backtrack, saying he’s sympathetic,” she said.

Other students, such as Wharton junior and College Republicans Vice President Laura Brown, do not “think that protesting a congressman coming to campus … is the most appropriate way” to express their views.

Brown, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff member, did not know about the Occupy Eric Cantor march. She believes that “asking him questions or starting conversations may be a more academic and productive way to bring those concerns.”

In light of Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to campus Tuesday, Brown thinks it is “good to have conversations on both sides of the aisle.”

Although she believes the protesters have the right to express their opinions, she does not support the movement.

“The Occupy movement has been very disorganized,” Brown added. “It’s hard to tell what they stand for and work for.”

Students in the Wharton Leadership Lecture Series Committee, however, are looking forward to showcasing the House Majority leader.

The organizers wanted to bring someone in the “political sphere,” said Wharton senior Triston Francis, who is on the committee.

“By bringing leaders to campus, we are really trying to show undergraduates different perspectives,” Francis said.

An “Occupy Wharton” Facebook group that College senior Alex Niculescu created last Wednesday to gauge interest for a movement at Penn had attracted 148 attendees by press time.

The event’s page, which is dated Oct. 31, states that there is no planned occupation. The Facebook group is “merely an initial call to see who is interested in organizing for an occupation.”

Friday’s march “isn’t against Wharton,” said College sophomore Dylan Hewitt, who has participated in Occupy Philly and camped outside City Hall. “This is against Cantor and the Republican and right-wing policies that are not working for this country.”

Hewitt said Cantor has voted against bills that have brought jobs and raised minimum wage.

He believes that the planned march from City Hall to Penn’s campus may be the biggest march that Occupy Philly has seen yet.

“It will be coming through University City and spreading awareness to students,” he added.

This article was updated from its original version to reflect that Keystone Progress is organizing the protest, not Occupy Philly.

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