Reports that Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan '81 P'14 and renowned Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek would be speaking at the Watson Institute for International Studies yesterday were false, according to Karen Lynch, Watson's communications director.
The misinformation originated from a source outside the institute, said Lynch, who declined to comment further.
Posters advertising the lecture appeared on campus yesterday and an organization billing itself as "The Politics and Action Lecture Board" sent an email around 1 p.m. inviting students to attend the "very special event." The group, which claimed to be organizing the event, sent another email around 3:30 p.m. confirming that the event had never been scheduled.
Student members of Occupy Providence had organized to protest the event before discovering it was a hoax, said Occupier Annie Rose London '11.5. Occupiers marched against Bank of America last month as part of a protest against big banks.
London said she was impressed by the group's ability to mobilize quickly — Occupiers were ready to protest about an hour after first hearing of the event.
Moynihan is a trustee of the Corporation, the University's highest governing body. Zizek made headlines in October after joining the Occupy Wall Street protests
