Community Corner

Grandmother Protests With College Students

Helen Hale, 78, of Palm Desert said she hopes the economy improves so her grandchildren and great-grandchildren have jobs when they graduate from college.

With silver hair, a handmade sign and a purple shirt, Helen Hale stood just off to the side of more than a dozen students supporting the “Occupy Coachella Valley” movement outside the cafeteria at the College of the Desert Tuesday.

“I am the 99 percent,’’ the 78-year-old Palm Desert resident’s sign read.

Hale said she read about the planned protest online and decided to show up, joining a movement of people protesting across the country against corporate greed and corruption and for more say in government.

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She pointed to the recent statement of Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) -- who said he was concerned about the “growing mobs occupying Wall Street and other cities” – as the spark that spurred her to action.

“I don’t think I look like a mob … I’m a mother of five, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of seven. If he wants to call me a mob, I respect his right to say that,’’ Hale said with a wry smile.

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The College of the Desert retiree said she is mostly concerned that her grandchildren will have jobs when they graduate from college.

“There are no jobs for them,’’ she said.

Hale said she has been impressed by the number of rallies that have popped up across the valley this week.

"This is a very small community here in the Coachella Valley. To see people out here at all, shows we have a diverse community,'' she said.

Another protest is planned Oct. 24 at Palm Desert's Civic Center Park. Another one is set for Oct. 22 at Indio City Hall.


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