From student organizers at Occidental College:
Although not of the same
character of the UCSB or Columbia U strikes, Occidental
College in Los
Angeles broke with business as usual on Feb. 15th in an
outpouring of everything from concern about Iraq to dissent and resistance
against the Bush Regime and its whole program.
The numbers of students
attending the organizing meetings from the start had been larger than usual-20,
then 30 people showing up to help, characterizing the widespread feeling that
politics as usual is not addressing and will not begin to address their
preoccupations for the future.
On Thursday, Feb. 15th,
about one fourth of the 2000 students at Occidental
College participated in a
non-traditional student strike against the direction of U.S. policy abroad and at home, especially in
response to the ever-sickening nature of the occupation of Iraq and the threats on Iran. In
turnout unprecedented since the occupation of Iraq
began, half of the students with classes scheduled for Thursday participated in
campus wide workshops, discussions and a rally intended to dramatically
increase awareness of and resistance to the criminal U.S.
actions in the Middle East. 22 out of 45 professors
dedicated class time to talking about a range of topics all related to the
urgent necessity to end the reign of the Bush Regime and the atrocities taking
place in Iraq–impeachment, war and capitalism, gender and war, torture and the
Military Commissions Act, What it will Actually take to end the War, and the
Bush Regime and the environment/biodiversity, among others.
The mood of the day was
powerful and different-the numbers of students concerned with changing where
they see the future going currently, the professors changing their schedules,
cancelling class, speaking at the rally and making statements normally
preempted by the climate of fear created by David Horowitz, et al. on campuses,
the genuine disgust, fear, anger and overall determination expressed by
students on the open mic at the rally, the looks on students faces as they
thanked the organizers for creating a space in which the things we never talk
about because “we”re already all against the war” are debated, struggled with,
focused on”The topics of impeachment and of how to end the war were really struggled
with by many students not used to having to confront the ideas some of them
called “too radical.” Especially in some of the more daring workshops led by
Larry Everest, people were shocked, others polarized, others moved, others
moved to action.
Speakers at the rally
included Everest, author of Oil, Power & Empire, Frank Dorrel (What I”ve
Learned About U.S. Foreign Policy) and a professor in the Anthropology
department who spoke out against the way the CIA and other government agencies
have used and are using anthropology and sociology for military strategy and
interrogations.
Many
students approached organizers towards the end of the day to say that they felt
empowered and encouraged in being a part of a first step towards bringing back
something sorely missing from the debate: a powerful, uncompromising student
anti-war movement with a real vision to confront the whole Bush program.