Author Archives: Sean Carlson
Why don’t I have any Republican friends? Musings on a survey.
I conducted my survey on people’s perceptions of Occupy Wall Street, and whether or not they believed it would alter the 2012 elections. I was curious to see if people thought the movement could transcend Zuccotti Park to have any tangible effects on policy. Unfortunately, both low turnout and a skewed survey pool shed little light on the issue.
I repeatedly advertised my survey on both Facebook and Twitter — and while Twitter offers great exposure to people outside of your immediate circle of friends, Facebook is more specific. My Facebook friends are by no means monolithic in their political views, but I feel like the people who would take the time to fill out a survey on the occupation are generally supportive.
On the technical side, I could not find an embed code for the survey. I think maybe because my chart was restricted to a table, it wouldn’t allow for embedding? Was I not allowed to make a chart because I had non-multiple choice questions on my survey?
https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S324155fq9U
The Entrepreneurs of Zuccotti
The protestors at Zuccotti Park style themselves as anti-corporate, and some even go as far as to call themselves anti-capitalists. Despite the movements aversion to private money, the occupation has seen a number of ambitious and industrious individuals make a buck or two off the encampment in downtown Manhattan.
From selling buttons in support of the 99% to making t-shirts, these entrepreneurs of Zuccotti support the movement, but have nothing against making some money on the side.
An expat returns
Alec has not been back to America in years. After graduating from Columbia University, he moved to Vietnam to teach English, joining thousands of Americans who travel to Asia for adventure or wealth by rite of being a native speaker. Sporting a new beard and an unruly mop of hair, Vietnam has obviously changed Alec. Here, he muses on his experience.
[audio:http://cdn.journalism.cuny.edu/blogs.dir/383/files/2011/10/audioalec.mp3|titles=Alec Talks About Vietnam]The Occupation Establishes a Community
The Occupy Wall Street movement that has captivated the minds of frustrated citizens around the world passed the one-month mark this week, and it shows no signs of letting up. On the contrary, the band of protestors at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan have dug-in, establishing what is starting to look like a small town. Complete with a kitchen, library and sleeping areas, the occupiers are proving the longevity of their cause.
From daily meals to educational sit-ins, the occupiers have plenty to do between protests. While the movement has come under fire for lacking a clear focus, the encampment in Zuccotti Park in many ways allows the demonstrators to establish the kind of society they are advocating for. Donations for food are suggested, but not required. Meetings are communal and democratic. After a near-eviction last week, the occupiers clean the park themselves. Occupy Wall Street is beginning to look like a functioning community.
The occupiers have amassed hundreds of thousands from a variety of sources, and receive hundreds of shipments of supplies every day. With the park too small to hold everything, much of the protestor’s loot is being kept at United Federation of Teachers storage facility not far from Zuccotti.
The Electoral Future of Occupy Wall Street
The protestors at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration seem to have no intention of leaving. The movement has spread to hundreds of cities across the country. The media and Washington are listening.
But it is still unclear how the protests may affect policy or the electoral playing field in 2012. Democrats have made attempts to court the protestors with a petition tying the fundraising efforts of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to the movement, and some Republicans have cooled their dismissive rhetoric.
At first glance, one might think that the protests will benefit progressives and Democrats. Despite the jumbled message of Occupy Wall Street, it is clear that taxing wealthy Americans and enforcing stronger bank regulation is paramount to the movement. These are things Democrats can easily get behind. But if you have spent time at Zuccotti Park over the past month, it doesn’t take long to see that the protestors aren’t endorsing anybody.
Take this survey to help clarify how people perceive and participate in the movement. Do you support the protestors? Do you think they have the potential to change the dynamics of the 2012 elections?
How to sound unbiased in a poll
I learned a lot from my first Google poll. Ultimately, I got the idea for this survey from being near Occupy Wall Street one day last week out of curiosity. After getting positive responses on Facebook to the photo album I posted about the occupation, I thought that it would be interesting to see a cross section of people who attended, or are simply interested.
As I am genuinely interested in gauging support for Occupy Wall Street, I soon realized in my questions that it is difficult to pose a question as being unbiased. Using words like “support” or “movement” seemed to be too loaded to me; others, like “agree” or “disagree” are less filled with connotation.
Also, I learned a lot about which questions to leave as multiple choice and which to leave open ended. If I narrow the scope of a question, I run the risk of impressing my own ideas and knowledge of the subject upon the interviewee. However, if I leave too many of them open to the person taking the poll, it lacks focus and does not establish any sort of trends.
The social media aspect of my poll worked well; being as #occupywallstreet is a very popular trend on Twitter, I was able to draw in interviewees who weren’t my immediate peers. Facebook, by nature, attracted less attention.
Crown Heights Farmers Market: Healing a Neighborhood with Food
The Crown Heights Farmers Market, which first opened its stalls last week, joins over 20 other open-air ventures in New York City that provide fresh, locally-grown produce to neighborhoods that would otherwise be without it. The market is the first of its kind in Crown Heights; after two years of wrangling with red tape, Hamilton Metz Park on Albany Avenue will host the farmers market every Thursday, thanks to the efforts of Seeds in the Middle, a local non-profit organization.
“We started two years ago and always everyone spoke about how unjust it was that there was no fresh produce in the neighborhood,” said Nancie Katz, who heads up Seeds in the Middle. The group first’s experiment with fresh greens in Crown Heights, a small green market at P.S. 91 in 2009, was a wild success.
Governor Cuomo launched an initiative last month known as FreshConnect, which provides funding and support to local markets throughout the state. Although the program has aided other emerging farmers markets in the city, the new Crown Heights market has been forced to go solo – it has yet to receive any public funding.
Nonetheless, the market’s organizers are touting it as a way for a community with scars mostly unseen to move beyond its turbulent history. In 1991, Crown Heights was rocked by a series of riots between that lasted for three days in August.
By providing a gathering place for Crown Heights residents of all backgrounds, the market seeks to bring together a neighborhood that has suffered from a painful past. The market brings together the work of local teachers, students and dedicated residents.
What do you think? Is the Crown Heights Farmers Market a good way to heal the scars of violence?
SEO Rewrite
Old post: A New Deal for Freelancers?
New Headline: In Jobs Plan, Obama can Provide New Deal for Freelancers
How Obama Can Invest in New York Again
In his much-anticipated jobs speech last week, President Obama pledged billions of dollars towards “shovel-ready” projects to put construction workers back on the job. The first round of federal stimulus, passed in 2009, provided $261 million dollars in aid to improve New York City’s infrastructure. Here is a list of projects within the city that would benefit from round two:
Hudson River Tunnel: In October of 2010, Chris Christie touted his cancellation of construction of another tunnel under the Hudson, which would have doubled the capacity of commuter train passengers traveling between New York and New Jersey. The estimated price tag of the project, split between the two states and the federal government, is estimated at about $10 billion.
Retrofitting commercial buildings: Cash-strapped labor unions and private enterprise have attempted to go further than what was pledged in Obama’s green initiatives last year, but would greatly benefit from public investment. Deutsche Bank has compiled a list of potential savings from retrofitting specific commercial buildings in NYC.
Fixing bridges: Although the Brooklyn Bridge received a much-needed enhancement from the America Recovery Act in 2009, bridges throughout the state of New York have been crumbling for years. Senator Schumer has called for federal aid to update over 2,000 structrually deficient bridges throughout the state.
Commuter trains: With New York being awarded a massive federal grant for high-speed rail projects, commuters throughout the region will find it easier to travel throughout the Northeastern Corridor. However, Metro North and NJ Transit are still vital routes for daily commuters throughout the area. Upgrading these networks can greatly improve efficiency.