thedrifter
12-12-05, 07:08 AM
On-campus military recruitment raises questions
Weekend protest draws 65 to local Marine recruiting office
By Joseph Shure
Published: 12/12/05
A group of about 65 people demonstrated Saturday against military recruiting on University campuses.
Rutgers Against the War organized the protest, which took place at the intersection of Livingston and George streets near a Marines recruiting office.
Participants in the demonstration met at Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus at around 1 p.m., then walked to the location of the protest.
Alex Van Schaick served as the master of ceremonies during the protest, introducing the five speakers who presented arguments criticizing the influence of recruiters on college campuses.
One of the speakers was Susan Niederer of Hopewell.
Niederer's son, Seth Dvorin, was killed in Iraq, and she blames what she sees as aggressive tactics by military recruiters and ill-thought-out policies by President George W. Bush's administration for her son's death.
Professor Norman Markowitz of the history department spoke, then Ian Chinich, a Rutgers College junior who is involved with RAW.
Next up was Rafael Greenblatt, a graduate student at the University who is also involved with RAW.
"Military recruiters do use highly deceptive practices," Greenblatt said, adding that he thinks that military recruiting should be part of the political discussion about the war.
"If the military is fighting a war that ought not to be fought, as most Americans now think it is, and our supposed representatives are barely even talking about it, I think we have a responsibility to discourage people from participating in it and impede the functioning of the military," he said.
Greenblatt is also dismayed by the fact that universities risk losing federal funding should they refuse to let military recruiters operate on campus.
The last speaker at the event was Tom Howard, a Rutgers graduate who now works for the international labor union Industrial Workers of the World.
He urged participants to engage in direct action and civil disobedience in confronting the war in Iraq, which he sees as a monumental injustice.
After the speeches, protesters marched to the Marines recruiting office on the corner of George and New streets.
Organizers of the event said they didn't intend to engage in dialogue with any personnel at the office, which they expected to be closed, as it usually is on Saturdays.
There was however, an officer doing paperwork in the building at the time. The officer fielded questions from reporters and refuted accusations from the protesters that her office uses coercive tactics.
The event was organized with the help of Rutgers Graduate Students for Peace and Justice, the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, the Student and Educational Workers Union, the Catholic Peace Fellowship, Radigals, Anti-Racist Action and the Princeton Coalition for Peace Action.
Van Shaick said he was happy with how the demonstration went.
"We got a crowd of 65 people out on a chilly day right before finals," he said. "The speeches and march down to the recruiter's office really got people pumped up and excited to continue counter-recruitment on campus."
RAW plans on holding an event similar to Saturday's next semester and regularly thereafter.
Ellie
This is only a PREVIEW of y
Weekend protest draws 65 to local Marine recruiting office
By Joseph Shure
Published: 12/12/05
A group of about 65 people demonstrated Saturday against military recruiting on University campuses.
Rutgers Against the War organized the protest, which took place at the intersection of Livingston and George streets near a Marines recruiting office.
Participants in the demonstration met at Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus at around 1 p.m., then walked to the location of the protest.
Alex Van Schaick served as the master of ceremonies during the protest, introducing the five speakers who presented arguments criticizing the influence of recruiters on college campuses.
One of the speakers was Susan Niederer of Hopewell.
Niederer's son, Seth Dvorin, was killed in Iraq, and she blames what she sees as aggressive tactics by military recruiters and ill-thought-out policies by President George W. Bush's administration for her son's death.
Professor Norman Markowitz of the history department spoke, then Ian Chinich, a Rutgers College junior who is involved with RAW.
Next up was Rafael Greenblatt, a graduate student at the University who is also involved with RAW.
"Military recruiters do use highly deceptive practices," Greenblatt said, adding that he thinks that military recruiting should be part of the political discussion about the war.
"If the military is fighting a war that ought not to be fought, as most Americans now think it is, and our supposed representatives are barely even talking about it, I think we have a responsibility to discourage people from participating in it and impede the functioning of the military," he said.
Greenblatt is also dismayed by the fact that universities risk losing federal funding should they refuse to let military recruiters operate on campus.
The last speaker at the event was Tom Howard, a Rutgers graduate who now works for the international labor union Industrial Workers of the World.
He urged participants to engage in direct action and civil disobedience in confronting the war in Iraq, which he sees as a monumental injustice.
After the speeches, protesters marched to the Marines recruiting office on the corner of George and New streets.
Organizers of the event said they didn't intend to engage in dialogue with any personnel at the office, which they expected to be closed, as it usually is on Saturdays.
There was however, an officer doing paperwork in the building at the time. The officer fielded questions from reporters and refuted accusations from the protesters that her office uses coercive tactics.
The event was organized with the help of Rutgers Graduate Students for Peace and Justice, the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, the Student and Educational Workers Union, the Catholic Peace Fellowship, Radigals, Anti-Racist Action and the Princeton Coalition for Peace Action.
Van Shaick said he was happy with how the demonstration went.
"We got a crowd of 65 people out on a chilly day right before finals," he said. "The speeches and march down to the recruiter's office really got people pumped up and excited to continue counter-recruitment on campus."
RAW plans on holding an event similar to Saturday's next semester and regularly thereafter.
Ellie
This is only a PREVIEW of y