Protest stresses student activism

Groups opposed to the Bush administration’s policies
abroad and at home held an “Hour of Resistance” at
Bruin Plaza on Tuesday in an attempt to rekindle the flame of
student activism against the war.

The protest was organized by the California Student
Sustainability Coalition, the United Arab Society and other
groups.

Despite differences in background, the speakers all stressed a
need for unity in opposition and revitalized activism, especially
among students.

The event “went really well, and there was a decent
turnout considering midterms,” said Megan Carney, one of the
event organizers.

One speaker, Tim Goodrich, said he served tours of duty with the
air force in Iraq and Afghanistan and returned home to co-found
Veterans Against the War.

Goodrich drew cheers when he called for the troops to come home,
financial support for Iraqi reconstruction, and a renewed
commitment to veterans.

Later, Goodrich yelled at a large flock of passing students,
“What are you doing to end this illegal war?”

Some Bruin Republicans passed by during Goodrich’s speech
and stopped to give their perspective.

“The way I see things, Iraqi people gave the finger to
tyranny by voting. Today, people are giving the finger to
democracy,” said David Lazar, second-year pre-economics
student and regional director of the Bruin Republicans.

“You’d think they’d be celebrating the
progress that was made instead of condemning the liberators,”
Lazar added.

Yousef Tajsar, a fifth-year political science student whose
parents are Iraqi refugees, spoke about how he felt oil was not the
major reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

“They destroyed Iraqi infrastructure so that they could
use American corporations to rebuild. Iraq has money to give to
American corporations,” Tajsar said.

The protestors’ ranks appeared to be inflated by passing
students and people lounging outside Ackerman Union, and Carney
admitted that the majority of protesters belonged to the
organizations that put on the event.

“In terms of securing a bigger audience, we need to be
sure to get in touch with other groups,” she said.
“Passing out flyers is not enough. Students just assume it
will happen.”

While the demonstrations were occurring at Bruin Plaza, a small
group of graduate students was speaking against the war in Iraq and
the “war” against lower-income communities at Meyerhoff
Park.

Leaders of the Raza Graduate Student Association and other
Chicano and Latino student groups on campus spoke about the
injustices being incurred by communities of color.

Speakers spoke mostly to visiting high school students against
military recruitment and alleged reports of police brutality that
is more prominent in lower income communities.

After the Raza demonstration ended, members of that group joined
the protest in Bruin Plaza.

When the speakers finished, there were performances by spoken
word artists Mark Gonzales and “Amir,” and a mix of
original and well-known songs performed by Ronney Shantouf and
Morgan Kays.

The event culminated with a march up Bruin Walk and across
campus, during which the group of about 15 remaining protesters
chanted slogans such as, “We don’t want no occupation;
we just want our education.”

Onlookers met the marchers with reactions varying from mild
interest to outright contempt. One student, seeing the marchers
passing by Powell library, stood up, saying, “I’m
leaving. I can’t watch this.”

Others seemed more interested in looking at the bicycle cops
accompanying the march.

Though there was a low turnout for the march, Carney said she
was encouraged by the experience.

“We learned a lot, and we want to continue. This was a
great starter,” Carney said.

With reports from Menaka Fernando, Bruin senior staff.

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