David Clift, 22, Wall St Waiter/actor, Brooklyn Why are you here? There’s lots of criticism that we don’t know what we want when the fact of the matter is there’s so many things that we want. Personally, I would like to see the reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act [which implemented banking reforms]. I think education needs to be revamped too – teachers should be the most respected people in this country. What would count as a victory for you? I don’t think there’s going to be any one specific thing. But this has galvanised us. We’re not going to be passive any more. For a while I was really despondent: it felt like everyone was just gossiping about celebrities, that no one was thinking and it felt like mass sedation. And now I’m here with hundreds of people who actually have opinions and facts to back them up. It’s a forum and it’s a beautiful thing

Photograph: Mike McGregor