UW anti-war "lip-service"

On Thursday, April 14th students and community members at the University of Wisconsin-Madison participated in an organized speak-out and rally that was part of a nationwide student walkout against the ongoing U.S. Iraqi occupation. The rally was also held to address the aggressive military recruiting in our schools. Several thoughtful speakers were brought together by the campus anti-war group, Stop the War, to deliver their messages at the top of Bascom Hill.

Despite that the event was well-organized, and that there was prior approval for the event, the campus police aggressively shut it down within 20 minutes of its commencement. After the first speaker (Wil Williams from Vets for Peace) spoke, a campus police officer motioned to the event organizer and informed him that there were complaints from staff in surrounding campus buildings that we were being too loud. The crowd responded with assertions regarding free speech and affirmation for the speakers to continue. We were, after all, gathered at a public institution that had granted prior approval for a speak-out.

As the second speaker, Jane Jensen from Military Families Speak Out, was somewhat timidly addressing the crowd, four additional police officers arrived - for what one can only assume was "back-up." It is of note that Ms. Jensen's voice was so soft that the relatively small crowd of approximately 150 people had to ask her to speak up and move in closer o hear what she had to say. Nevertheless, the newly formed police crew belligerently unplugged the sound system with no advance warning. The troubling short-term aspect was, of course, that those of us gathered could no longer hear the speakers.

But, the more troubling aspect of this occurrence is the institutional support from the University for the deliberate silencing and marginalizing of voices on campus. The outrage is that the University is able to govern in the manner displayed Thursday under a false image that it is a liberal, public sphere that not only supports, but encourages dialogue on controversial issues. In fact, on the "today at UW-Madison" web page, the event was posted with the following quote: "UW-Madison has a longstanding tradition of critical discourse concerning issues that affect not only our campus but the greater community. Generate a dialogue on the current war through a series of anti-war events on campus including a march, rally and a series of speakers."

The manner in which the campus dealt with the event on Thursday highlights what may more properly be called a longstanding tradition of "lip-service" to marginalized and oppressed groups and a greater interest in serving the majority and that which is economically fruitful.

Dr. Shelly Grabe, UW-Madison