Wednesday’s “Books Not Bombs” rally brought 1960s-style student activism back to University of Wisconsin’s Bascom Hill with an antiwar demonstration.
Madison police estimate at least 2,000 people of all ages turned out to show dissent for the Bush Administration’s stance on a possible invasion of Iraq.
The rally was part of a national day of protest organized by National Youth Student Peace Coalition. Several UW student groups organized the event locally. According to Pabitra Benjamin, executive staff of Multicultural Student Council and UW rally organizer, the protest beckoned students to “strike,” or abstain from going to class, to show support for an increase in federal spending for education instead of the military.
“Financial aid and federal funding on education is going down, but we’re giving President Bush a blank check to go to war,” Benjamin said.
The rally featured several speakers who spoke against U.S. action in Iraq. Among the speakers were UW Adult Education professor Muhammed Douglah and a UW student who is an Army Reservist leaving for Iraq in one week.
Waving signs that read, “War will not bring peace,” and “Drop Bush not bombs,” many student protesters cheered for the speakers instead of sitting in class.
The crowd joined in chants including “One, two, three, four, we don’t want this racist war! Five, six, seven, eight, we will not cooperate!” to voice their thoughts on the matter.
UW senior Shaun Langley skipped his class, “The African Storyteller,” to attend the rally. Langley said the protest took precedent over his class, and he felt it was important he attend the rally to show support for a peaceful resolution with Iraq.
Other UW students at the rally said its title, “Books not Bombs,” didn’t jibe with organizers asking students to skip class to demonstrate.
“I’d rather go to class to show my support for education, not skip it,” UW senior Jessica Schober said.
Schober stopped by the rally between classes.
A group of about 25 students attended the rally in support of U.S. military action in Iraq. Holding signs that said “Support our president, not theirs,” these students said it was important to show that not all students agree with the rally’s message.
“Most students on our side are in class right now, working hard, getting an education,” UW College Republican Chair Tim Rash said.
The rally attracted a diverse crowd, including Ann Halbach, an employee at UW’s School of Education. Halbach brought her daughter, a seventh grader at O’Keefe Middle School in Madison, and two of her daughter’s friends to the rally. She said the students needed a parental release form to leave school.
“They thought it was worth it to skip school, and I agree. They’re good students,” Halbach said.
Madison West High School junior Olivia Rivard also missed class to show her disapproval of military action in Iraq.
“I don’t think our government respects other countries; only our own. We need to have solid proof there are weapons in Iraq before we invade,” Rivard said.
UW Chancellor John Wiley issued a statement on the rally, saying UW will remain neutral on the issue.
“I will not declare that UW-Madison has a particular viewpoint regarding the possibility of armed conflict with Iraq … I will, however, do everything necessary to guarantee that all who wish to express their views on these or other issues have the freedom to do so, without fear of penalty or interference,” Wiley said.
Several Madison-area political figures were on Bascom Hill in support of the rally. District 8 Alder candidate Austin King said he is excited to see student activism on campus.
“I’m a student and am here to show the priority education should receive in this country over an illegal war with dubious constitutionality,” King said.
UW graduate, 1960s antiwar activist and mayoral candidate Paul Soglin was at the rally to support the demonstration and said it brought back memories of his protesting days at UW. He said students today have a unique opportunity to have their voices heard before military action begins.
“Today, we have an opportunity to stop a war before it starts. Last time (during Vietnam), hundreds of thousands of people were already being killed,” Soglin said.
Although Soglin said a relationship between student activism today and during the Vietnam War is not manifest, he said he is impressed students today are involved in the debate about military action in Iraq before it starts.
“Given the early point in the debate, students today are more actively involved than they were 40 years ago,” Soglin said.
Students walking down Bascom between classes got an eyeful of action, but some questioned the impact of the protest.
Even though his biomaterials professor said students would not be responsible for material covered in class Wednesday, UW junior Brian Bye said he still chose class instead of the rally.
“I don’t believe protesting and skipping class are related. We come here to go to class; I pay to go to class, and I plan on going,” Bye said, adding that he thinks a lot of students at the rally were not really dedicated to the cause.
Some of the students at the rally tried to demand the university take a stand against the nation’s military plans, but Provost Peter Spear refused to depart from Wiley’s neutral stance.
Some students stayed out of class even after the early afternoon, when the rally broke up.