Rowdy Anti War Protesters at UC Santa Cruz Causes Military Recruiters to Leave

[las47032]

Four military recruiters hastily fled a job fair Tuesday morning at UC Santa Cruz after a raucous crowd of student protesters blocked an entrance to the building where the Army and National Guard had set up information tables.

Members of Students Against War, who organized the counter-recruiting protest, loudly chanted "Don't come back. Don't come back" as the recruiters left the hilltop campus, escorted by several university police officers.

"The situation had degraded to the point where there was a possibility of injury to either a student or law enforcement officer. We certainly didn't want that to happen,'' said Capt. Will Griffin, one of the Army recruiters.
University officials had been aware for weeks that Students Against War planned a protest to prevent military personnel from participating in the school's biannual job fair held for students.

The student organization has become a bit of a cause celebre of the national anti-war movement ever since it was discovered that the group's protest of the same job fair last April landed it in a Pentagon surveillance file, which listed the protest as a "credible threat" to military facilities or personnel.

Universities that receive federal funds are required to allow military recruiters on campus. But campus officials had worried that Tuesday's protest would get out of hand as it had last April, when Students Against War protesters surrounded the table where military personnel sat, and hundreds of other demonstrators engaged in an angry protest outside. Some of the recruiters reported that their tires had been slashed and one employee at the career center was injured.

David Kliger, campus provost and executive vice chancellor, said the school was most concerned Tuesday about safety issues, but also wanted to preserve access to the recruiters for students who wanted to speak with them, while still allowing protesting students their right to free speech.

Kliger said officials had tried to engage the anti-war student group in discussions in the weeks leading up to the fair. But when talks broke down, officials began privately hoping for rain and brought in extra police.
The rain probably accounted for a decidedly smaller turnout -- about 100 students compared with about 300 a year earlier.

Still, the Army's Griffin said he sensed that some of the students were "looking for action" and decided to pack up their table before things got out of hand and someone got injured.

Students Against War members said they were pleased that their counter-recruiting effort forced the military personnel off campus, at least for the time being.

"We're saying it's not OK to recruit on high school campuses, it's not OK to recruit on university campuses,'' Marla Zubel, a UC Santa Cruz senior and member of Students Against War, said. "In order to stop the war, you have to make it more difficult to wage war."

But at least one student, Cody James, said he was disappointed that he couldn't get in to speak with the military personnel.

"It's frustrating,'' said James, a senior majoring in politics. "I'm not a Republican. I'm not a conservative. I don't support the war. It's about finding a career."

Dejavu. Anit Vietnam War demonstrators.

Photo Essay http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/04/1814698.php

Quicktime video military recruiters forced of campus
http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/04/1814777.php


Military recruiters, confronted by crowd, leave campus job fair - Anti-war protesters at university block doors to building
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AG3KI7INT1.DTL

Related story: UCSC anti-war protest prompts military reps to flee http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/arc...es/01local.htm







Dejavu. Anti Vietnam War protesters.

[Woodmonkey]

So much for freedom of speech

[Bluehawk]

UCSC is where my youngest son just finished his Bachelors degree... I didn't see his face in any of the photos, thank heaven!

[filthybeast]

Gee Gwen missed this protest. Beast does his happy dance.

[Scrappy]

You can do it your own way as long as it it's done just how I say battle cry for inculcation of soldiers and sailor, and universally accepted by liberals, socialists and communists, as long as it's disestablishmentary


oh, and nazi's too yea, hmm, I honor your freedoms, except.... why aren't they in afghanistan, bosnia, pacistan, iraq, germany, columbia.... oh yea, they are free to choose, imagine that, I wonder why that is.

Those lame intellectuals need to read, Sun Tzu Art of War, then read Bright Star, study and internalize the Federalis Papers and enjoy a fun read in the first few chapters of "The First Force Recon Company" until then they can talk through a bootsole up their @zz .


someone once said "The Vietnam war was lost because the backbone of America turned to mush because it was more interested in boners than being a spine" For those of you who can't figure that one out, To this day we have won every war we have endevored to. Still for life of me cannot figure out why some people are so spineless and hateful towards some other country's men. :?

[filthybeast]

This is Gwens school. She knew that I would not pay for Berkley so this was her choice. 3 Years of college and she now thinks of me as not only her father but a Ultra Hawk. I told her that will change in a few years.