9th-graders, 99 percenters compare notes

ALBANY — Two school buses pulled up in front of the Occupy Albany encampment on Tuesday and disgorged a group of students eager to dispense worldly wisdom to the huddled masses.

The students were in ninth grade at Tech Valley High School and came to conduct a "teach-in." They were in class recently, learning about Haiti's history and trying to invent a toilet that can be used by people in developing countries with no plumbing. And then somebody played a video of people marching on the state Capitol with signs that criticized the government and signs that called everybody who wasn't rich the 99 percent.

Erin Wilder, 14, and her classmates thought about people in the world who are hungry. Maybe the power of those criticizing democratic governments could also be harnessed to get meals, and clean water, for those who live in other countries.

They came to speak to those protesting wealth disparity about how people can come together to create practical solutions, like new toilets that keep water sources clean, for old problems.

"It's about the people, not the politicians, the people are the one who need the changes," Wilder said.

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