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Antiwar rally planned for Mifflin Street block party
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by ky Malinsky
Friday, April 23, 2004
Antiwar rally planned For Mifflin Street Block Party
by Becky Malinsky
News Reporter
Local students and citizens came together Thursday to discuss last-minute details and to make final plans for a May Day antiwar protest.
A march from State Street Mall to the Capitol Loop and through the Mifflin Street Block Party is planned for May 1.
“May Day is a nationally celebrated day of peace. People all over the country on May 1 will be protesting the war in Iraq and other acts of violence and hate in the world,” said Marilee Harrison, member of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Along with protesters in nations across the globe, University of Wisconsin students, staff and local activists will also protest the United States presence in Iraq by making numerous speeches.
The idea of marching through Mifflin Street proved controversial when brought to the table. Many said it is the perfect place to reach and grab students’ attention while throngs of partiers celebrate the Mifflin Block Party.
“We want to march through Mifflin Street so that everyone feels involved,” UW student Sam Swenson said.
However, others at the meeting felt the size of the Mifflin crowd would be overwhelming for what they have planned.
The march will tentatively begin at 2 p.m. on Library Mall, followed by a march up State Street. Speakers are planned for the Capitol Loop before the march continues on to Mifflin Street, where a house will be set up for more presentations and protests.
Protestors will focus on key issues that affect students directly.
The rally’s planning committee hopes to inform students that President Bush’s decisions could easily affect them personally.
Committee members will address the fears of a possible reinstatement of the draft, along with questions surrounding whether the occupation is taking funds away from education.
The main message the protesters plan to convey, however, is the hope to end quickly the occupation of not only Iraq, but Palestine as well.
Dating back exactly one year from May 1, President Bush stood aboard an aircraft carrier near the California coast and declared victory in Iraq.
More than 700 Americans have died in the conflict since the war began in March 2003.
While speaking in Appleton, Wis., in early April, Bush defended his decision to topple Saddam because intelligence reports indicated the Iraqi leader possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed a threat to American national security.
“I looked at intelligence from Iraq and saw a threat,” Bush said, according to a transcript of the speech. “The U.S. Congress looked at the same intelligence, and the members of Congress saw a threat. The United Nations Security Council looked at the intelligence, and it saw a threat.”
