Occupy This.

Maybe CBS News should do some research and vetting the next time it reports a story, because it failed spectacularly in Lynn O'Shaughnessy's article, "Occupy Harvard: Nation's most exclusive tent city."

O'Shaughnessy gets credit for recognizing that Harvard posted guards to check IDs at the gate of the Yard.

One protestor, who is a junior, lamented upon the heightened security to a reporter for the Harvard Crimson: "I think it's absurd. Do we really need eight guards per gate?"

Midterms just ended here in Cambridge. Let's see how this article fares:

• -5 points for not identifying the person
• -5 points for taking the quote out of context (see link above)
• -5 points for not mentioning that "8 guards" is hyperbole
• -50 points for failing to state Occupy Harvard's true intention of creating a more equitable institution.
• -20 points for making this issue seem way too easy. More on this below.

That comes to a 15, which is somewhere around an F with Harvard grade inflation taken into account. Nice try, but still a failing grade.

O'Shaughnessy makes a good point that education should be more equitable. But then again, so should distribution of income. The fact is, there is a lot more holding back low-income students before they even submit their college application. Only 8 percent of children that grow up in low-income communities graduate college by age 24. It is common knowledge among College Board test makers and education experts that there is a strong correlation between test scores and a family's level of income. And it's not just about money. Standardized testing is a terrible measure of aptitude that makes it easy for any educational institution to make a snap judgment. The problem is systemic, concretizing a test score into some supposedly meaningful measure when in fact it can just as easily serve as a reflection of student anxiety, family life, nutrition, income, and the school system he or she attends. Organizations like Teach for America recognize this and are fighting for change.

Harvard is an easy target, but the problem is an infinitely more complex system strongly linked to politics and economics.

This isn't all the journalist's fault. She probably had to meet a deadline. Sometimes you have to simplify. But there is a lot going on behind the scenes that cannot simply be dismissed. Education is a very complex issue, and to use the final graf for such an unsubstantiated statement is irresponsible.

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This all being said, I think the Occupy movement is wonderful for people on all sides of the debate because it has finally raised pressing issues. The criticism that the movement lacks cohesive objectives might be valid in some respect, but that is part of Occupy's beauty. People raise the issues they think are relevant to them. A dialogue is beginning in the media, and as long as pundits are trying to mold the issue, facts and stats will get out and we will begin to determine how horrifyingly large, ingrained, and oppressive our current economic and political policies are. The wellspring of ideas that the Occupy movement has revealed is a true boon to America, for finally raising consciousness and debates about the issues. This is truly the first step to reform.