Anti-War Committee tells stories of St. Paul convention experiences

Nearly 100 people gathered in Risman Plaza yesterday hoisting signs and shouting, “Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” during an anti-war protest.

The Kent State Anti-War Committee hosted the protest in response to seven years of war. Members used the time to speak about the war, economy and what happened to protesters at the Republican National Convention.

After an acoustic performance by Aaron Brooks, several of the committee members told stories about some of the protesters in St. Paul, Minn., who were subjected to police brutality or having thier homes raided in the middle of the night.

Committee member Noah Learned summed up the speech by saying they should continue to protest and gather in public despite the intimidating tactics used by law enforcement.

Before the crowd started marching, committee member Jennifer Pierce told them to take a moment of silence to “think about why we’re doing this.”

After the silence came the noise. The marchers were armed with drums, tambourines, home-made noise makers and chants. They made their way through the plaza and down to the ROTC building where they posted fliers on the doors expressing their desire for troops to be home from war.

From the ROTC building, the crowd made its way down Route 59 across from University Street. Its chants and signs were met with honks, screams and middle fingers from cars passing.

The rest of the protest was stationary. The chanting continued as police cruisers came and went. One cruiser parked and video taped the protest. Former committee member Isaac Miller said he wasn’t worried about the police being there, and they usually record protests.

The protest also snagged the attention of residents passing by. Kent resident Don Jones was riding his bike with his son and stopped to listen for a while. He said that the protest was OK with him as long as it’s peaceful.

“They have their rights, but that stops when you infringe on the rights of others,” he explained.

What Jones didn’t agree with were the signs that had profane language written on them. He said he doesn’t think that gets their point across, but instead it brings negative attention to the cause.

The protest ended as peacefully as it started. Some of the people still chanted and some sat and sang protest songs accompanied by guitar.

Alan Canfora was involved in the protests at Kent State during May 4, 1970, and said he is glad to see Kent State students are keeping activism alive.

“This is very encouraging,” he said.

Contact ROTC reporter Caitlyn Wachovec at [email protected].