Occupy Chicago // OccupyChi.org

Monday, November 14
University of Chicago - 1414 East 59th Street
6pm - 7pm: Unwelcoming Hank and Condi
7pm - 9pm: Occupy Chicago General Assembly

Monday: The Occupation Un-Welcomes Rice and Paulson to the University of Chicago

Occupy Chicago General Assembly Moves to the South Side of Chicago


CHICAGO 11/13/11 -- On Monday, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., will speak at the University of Chicago. Occupy Chicago and University students are calling for supporters to "Un-Welcome" the speakers.

"Rice and Paulson are perfect examples of big business' negative influence on politics," says David Orlikoff, a film critic and Occupy Chicago participant. "Rice worked for Chevron, then for an administration that fought a war for oil. Paulson helped tank the economy at Goldman Sachs, then worked for a Treasury that bailed out Wall Street. It's time to get big money and corporate influence out of politics!"

Admission to the talk, titled, “A Conversation with Condoleezza Rice,” is open only to University of Chicago students, faculty and staff with a valid University ID. Many of Occupy Chicago members are students at the University of Chicago and plan on attending this event.

"I'll be there to Un-Welcome Hank and Condi to my school," says Colette Robicheaux, a University of Chicago student and Occupy Chicago participant. "Our University shouldn't be inviting war criminals like Rice, and those who pushed our economy to the brink of collapse, like Paulson, to campus. These people should be in jail, not on the lecture circuit."

Also on Monday, the Occupy Chicago General Assembly will be held on the south side of Chicago for the first time, across the street from the speaking event.

"Hank and Condi are corporate tools who never ran for public election," says Peter Fugiel, a graduate student in sociology and Occupy Chicago participant. "As appointed representatives of big business, Paulson and Rice crafted policies that most people oppose. Now they have the nerve to come tell us that they drove millions of Iraqis into refugee camps and millions of Americans into foreclosure for our own good? We want to let them know their anti-democratic propaganda isn't welcome here. We're bringing the Chicago General Assembly down to Hyde Park so that people whose voices can't be heard in the exclusive halls of the University can raise them in an open, democratic forum--just across the street."