UCLA students reacted Thursday to President Bush’s
re-election as several hundred gathered to hear students speak out
against the president’s victory and urge those who oppose
Bush’s policies to keep fighting for their views.
Organized by the Concerned Students of UCLA ““ a group of
leaders from various student groups created for the purposes of the
event ““ the noontime rally at Meyerhoff Park drew a crowd
that grew to about 200 as the sometimes profanity-laden and fiery
speeches beckoned passersby on Bruin Walk to stop and listen.
“I know there’s a lot of angry voices out there …
so we want to hear you guys today,” said Yousef Tajsar, a
member of the Associated of Students of UCLA board of directors and
an organizer of the event.
“Tuesday was just a setback, but the movement keeps on
going,” he said.
The rally’s atmosphere was one of sporadic intensity.
Students standing near the front of the crowd, which gathered
around the podium at Meyerhoff, occasionally cheered and applauded
in response to several passionate speeches from students. A large
portion of onlookers, standing dispersed farther back from the
crowd along Bruin Walk, were content to stand, watch, and
listen.
“Not My President” was written in bold black letters
on a sign displayed next to the main podium, articulating the theme
of the rally that though he won the election, Bush does not
represent the views of many UCLA students on issues of health care,
abortion and the war in Iraq.
“I’m really dismayed that so many Americans voted
for this right-wing agenda,” said Katherine King, a professor
of comparative literature, as she listened to speakers during the
rally.
“It makes me feel better to see all the students out here
and all the energy. It makes me have hope in the future,”
King said.
According to a Daily Bruin exit poll conducted on Election Day,
82 percent of UCLA students, staff and faculty surveyed voted for
Bush’s opponent, Sen. John Kerry, who conceded the election
Wednesday.
Student speakers ““ reading poetry, asking questions of the
crowd, or loudly voicing their views ““ focused mostly on the
idea that while Bush’s re-election was a defeat for many
liberal students, they must continue to fight for their views and
oppose the policies of the Bush administration.
“This does not take away from the strengths we’ve
gained … the voters we’ve registered, the debates
we’ve provoked,” shouted Baylee DeCastro, chairwoman of
the student group Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, as she
spoke to the crowd.
“The battle of last year is over but a new one is
beginning.”
Protesters expressing a dissenting viewpoint on the election
were few, but the ones who were present made themselves
visible.
David Lazar, a second-year biology student and Bruin Republicans
member, attached a “Bush Cheney “˜04″ sticker to
his chest as he listened to the presentations.
“I’d like to show that there are students on campus
who voted for George W. Bush and accept the outcome of this
election,” Lazar said, calling the rally “almost a
declaration of war” on Bush by the students.
“I think this campus is so out of whack with the American
public,” he said.
Matt Knee, Bruin Republicans president, added he was
“offended by the “˜Not My President’
concept” and said he believes it was “highly
inappropriate” for students to claim that Bush is not their
president.
Berky Nelson, director of the Center for Student Programming,
said he was “proud of the way they did this” and said
he heard no complaints about the rally.
“It shows that democracy is alive and well, at least on
this campus,” Nelson said.
Some students at the rally felt pushed to action from the
election results.
“I was really dissatisfied and I thought I really need to
start doing something,” said fifth-year neuroscience student
Kim Parker.
“A lot of UCLA students are really apathetic,” she
said. “Now we’ve seen the consequences of sitting on
our ass for four years.”