Breaking the law could ruin the point
A lot of people are upset about the situation at New York University, and how students affiliated with Take Back NYU! are being treated since the Kimmel Student Center occupation of the ended. Few people, however, are considering that the students broke into the building to occupy it.
We as a people have the right to assemble. If people choose to do so, their credibility must be intact.’
Credibility is often the only currency that matters. When credibility is in question, a person is then no longer able to serve their cause.
According to UH Students Against Sweatshops’ blog, during UH President Khator’s investiture, while organized outside the Cullen Auditorium, Khator’s secretary stood in front of protesters in an attempt to hide their banner from the view of faculty attending the event.
‘ ‘Do you have to stand right in front of me?’ asked one of the protesters, which is when he was allegedly slapped. If this is any indication of how on-campus protesting at UH is handled, then we ought to be ashamed.
The UHSAS is planning another protest rally at noon March 31 at M.D. Anderson Memorial Library.’
Stand up for what you believe in. Say it loud, but remember if you break the law, no matter how minor or severe the infraction, you muddle everything up and your cause becomes hopeless.
– Matthew Keever
Student protests evoke powerful messages’
The UH student handbook allows for peaceful protesting, but looking back on the past at different protests around campus brings up the question – have we gone too far?
‘ ‘Last fall there was a demonstration near the UC involving a guy dressed as a chicken, handing out candy and pointing to pictures of the tortured KFC chickens,’ former UH alumnas Sara Turner said. ‘Normally, it would have been a non-issue, but at that exact moment a father was walking with his son toward the UC for lunch. The child saw the gory photo and heard what the feathered man was saying and subsequently burst into tears.’
Our feathered friend was doing nothing wrong. He was presenting the information and his opinion.’
The same goes for the protest a few years ago where a student and a baby doll were carried like corpses across campus, smeared with fake blood. While also graphic, it was poignant and beautifully carried out. Immediately, students knew that there was another side to the war – an ugly, violent, life-robbing side that is far from peaceful and far from productive.
The students on our campus need to have opportunities to express views and passions. Protesting is an effective way to get the point across, and censorship of this right would simply be yet another cause for protest.
– Alana MousaviDin
Protest is undermined by misguided actions
Rational and peaceful actions deserve a rational peaceful response.
Last week, protests were staged at New York University regarding issues as varied as fiscal transparency to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.’
About 70 students from NYU and nearby colleges, affiliated with the campaign Take Back NYU!, barricaded themselves in a dining room for about 40 hours, pledging to remain until a list of 13 demands was met.’
‘The demands included public release of NYU’s budget and endowment figures, student representation on the school’s board of trustees, scholarships for Palestinian students, tuition stabilization, universal public access to the school’s main library and amnesty for those involved with the protest,’ according to The Brown Daily Herald.
Some of the proposals were pretty misguided but then again, what else can be expected from a bunch of hipsters?
The protest ended Friday but the issue is still far from settled.’
Peaceful protest cannot be denied without setting a dangerous precedent, but reports have circulated of an injured security guard and breaking and entering occurring during the protests. This was exactly what the administration needed if they are looking to punish these students.’
In order to make the greatest gain, your side cannot be the one to lose composure – this immediately discredits all prior action.’
– Daniel Wheeler
