What began as a peaceful protest in New York City has now spread to more than 900 cities across the country, including Wilmington, N.C.

Protestors claim they are the 99%, which refers to the difference in wealth between the majority of the U.S. population and the nation’s wealthiest one percent. Groups across America are protesting the social and economic inequality that is prevalent in today’s society. Demonstrators are also protesting corporate greed, corruption and influence over government.

President Obama has addressed the movement, calling it a representation of the frustration the American people are feeling as they feel that no one is looking out for them. 2012 presidential candidate and republican Herman Cain has said, “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks, if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.” The issues that have ignited the OWS movement have been addressed in movies like “Capitalism: A Love Story” by Michael Moore and “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”

Media coverage of the movement has shown an unorganized group with members who aren’t clear on their long-term goals. But protestors in Wilmington (and those in various cities around the country) are counteracting that stereotype.

“The Occupy movement is largely about addressing the extreme economic disparity in the U.S. and in the world,” said UNCW student Vanessa Haugh. “The movement has many different meanings for different people. To me it’s about coming together to examine the nature of oppression and to work toward collective liberation by creating communities in which our ideals and values are translated into action. This is a time and place to question what we may have accepted as the natural order of things. Questions like, why do some CEO’s make a year’s pay in an hour while I have friends that can’t afford health care? Or pay for college? Why do some people have eight homes while others have none?”

 UNCW student Drew Hardin participated in the OWS movement in New York City. “The thing that was most amazing to me was the discussion and the atmosphere that surrounded the movement,” said Hardin. “In a culture where all political conversations are heated debates, it was completely new to me to see so many people working together to solve problems.”

The movement isn’t restricted by political party affiliation. OWS claims to be a leaderless movement and has a diverse group of members: young, old, religious, liberal, independents, anarchists, socialists and environmentalists, among others.

Hardin thought the demonstrations at Wall Street were how the American political system should work, not two political parties at war with one another but the American people standing together to change things.  “It was completely transparent, engaging, and gave everyone a voice,” said Hardin.

“We need to change the system so that it’s not rigged to benefit a small minority while the majority struggles,” said Haugh. “FDR said it when he talked about the need for an economic Bill of Rights. He said, ‘We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence…People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.'”

After participating in the OWS movement in New York, Hardin decided to bring the movement back to Wilmington. “The protest isn’t limited to New York; I saw online that colleges around the country were promoting Occupy movements so I made a (Facebook) group and had a number of people approach me willing to help organize events,” said Hardin.

Occupy UNCW’s Facebook page currently has 94 supporters, and Hardin is hoping to reach out to more students daily. The goal of Occupy UNCW is to spread awareness to the student body and start discussion. The group’s Facebook page states that they hope to change economic and political inequalities and restore democracy to the United States. “It’s important for college students to have a voice in something like this,” said Hardin. “This movement is bringing the ability to make changes back to the people.”

Saturday, Nov. 5, the OWS movement sponsored “Move Your Money,” in which protestors across the country moved their funds from big banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America into locally owned credit unions. According to a press release from the Credit Union National Association, more than 650,000 new accounts have been opened with credit unions in the past four weeks.

The week of November 14 will be an important one for the Occupy UNCW chapter. There will be a rally Monday and an information forum held later that week on campus. A panel of community members, students and faculty will be discussing the problems and solutions proposed by the OWS movement.

“We’re hoping that the forum will be a source of information for those who want to learn more and that it will pull more young people into the movement,” said Haugh. “College students know that finding a job in this economy is going to be tough. We’ve been told that if we work hard and do well in school we’ll get good jobs that will support us and our families but that’s not always the case anymore.”

There are also chapters for Occupy CFCC (Cape Fear Community College).

In the meantime, students who wish to participate are encouraged to get involved with the Occupy UNCW Facebook page. Demonstrators involved in the Occupy Wilmington movement meet every Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. at Greenfield Lake Park and on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. for their general assembly meetings.

November 12 at 2 p.m., Occupy Wilmington will be hosting a Call to Action March that will lead to their encampment site downtown. More information can be found at their website occupywilmingtonnc.org.

For more information on the movement visit occupytogether.org and occupywallst.org.