Roughly 50 students lined the sidewalk in front of the Study earlier this evening, holding signs to protest an information session held by the investment banking firm Morgan Stanley.
“Twenty-five percent, is too much talent spent!” the protesters chanted, making reference to the fact that one in four Yalies go into finance or consulting. Their signs included slogans such as “Dreams not dollar$” and “Your career decision is a moral choice,” among others.
Other chants include:
It’s not what it seems, don’t abandon your dreams
Give change a chance, don’t go into finance
Make change, not money
We’ve got talent, we’ve got smarts, but our careers are moved by our hearts
They take you in and spit you out. That’s what these jobs are all about
In the Study’s penthouse, the chants could not be heard and the Morgan Stanley event went on with quiet music in the background. Representatives of Morgan Stanley and the Study declined to comment. A planned question and answer session was scrapped because of the protest, students present said.
When police asked the protesters to move away from the sidewalk in front of the Study, the protesters crossed the street and held an “alternative info session,” where Jennifer Klein, a Yale history professor, and Annie Lai, a teaching fellow from the Law School, spoke to the crowd.
“Think about what kind of jobs would create a genuinely productive economy that doesn’t leave workers secure, that doesn’t leave people without houses, and that doesn’t hollow out neighborhoods,” Lai said.
Each of her sentences was repeated using Occupy’s “mic check” system, which ensures that speakers can be heard over a large crowd.