A group of students, as part of a class exercise on nonviolence, were led by their professor throughout campus Wednesday night protesting Starbucks coffee, gun violence and tuition increases
"The best part of waking up is human rights violations in your cup!" was among many chants protesters shouted. One held a sign that listed "advantages" of Starbucks coffee, including "unfair trade."
Professor Mubarak Awad said the protest was part of a Theory and Methods: Nonviolence class at AU. The class does demonstrations like this every other year, "depending on the energy of the students," he said. Students chose to deal with a mix of campus and national issues.
The protests occurred just two weeks after the two-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, which was marked by protests in American cities and towns from New York City to San Francisco, including a small protest in Ward Circle next to AU's campus.
Approximately 40 AU students, joined by Joe Eldridge, the chaplain of Kay Spiritual Life Center, and Mark Schaefer, the Methodist chaplain, gathered around the statue of General Artemas Ward in a protest during rush hour in Ward Circle on March 18. The main objective was to remind people that the war is still happening, according to co-facilitators for the Community Action and Social Justice Coalition, the group that organized and co-sponsored the AU protest with The Movement, a progressive group on campus.
School of International Service Dean Louis Goodman emphasized the importance of expressing these views in a law-abiding and constructive way.
"It's very important for people to express their views on issues," Goodman said.
Michael Ames, a junior in the School of Public Affairs said the protests were a good form of expression, but misdirected.
"It's good they are practicing their rights to free speech," he said. "Although a protest at AU seems pointless given there seems to be a strong consensus on campus about the war. It would seem more effective to direct protest at state leaders, or to supporters and undecideds.
Protesters at about 730 different locations across the country rallied around the anti-war movement on March 19 and 20, according to The New York Times. Protests ranged from a handful of people to several thousand, according to CNN.com.
There were also protests in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego and Pittsburgh, as well as in smaller towns like Algoma, Wis. and Cottage Grove, Ore.
"Clearly people in the United States are divided," said John Willoughby, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. "I think some think it's unpatriotic to protest."
Despite the large number of protests in America, the size of the protests were dwarfed by the numbers that poured out to express themselves abroad. The largest protest to mark the anniversary was in London on March 19 and drew 45,000 people, according to The New York Times.
Americans in general feel like they have less power to influence their government compared with Europeans, Willoughby said.
Kenda Froshman, the teaching assistant for the nonviolence class at AU, said the protesting exercise that students participated in Wednesday is an opportunity for people who don't usually protest.
"It gets people out who normally wouldn't get out," she said. "It shows people just the process of it ... it also brings out that there is a complexity in these issues."
Demonstrations in America are likely to increase as time goes on and the situation worsens, said William Kincade, a professor in SIS. Kincade also noted that it took five to six years before the public turned against the Vietnam War.
AU students at the Iraq protest attempted to relive Vietnam demonstrations that took place at AU in the 1960s by hanging a banner from the statue of Ward that read, "How many more?" The same banner was used during a protest in 1968, according to Kruglak.
Aviva Perlman, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said she thinks impromptu protests are the most effective.
"Protests in the '60s seemed better when they didn't have to be organized and just happened," she said. "But when they take place randomly in MGC, I think they are dumb."
The student demonstrators received mostly positive responses. AU shuttle drivers, cab drivers and other passersby waved peace signs and honked. A few people rolled down their windows to talk to the protestors, said Kruglak.
Staff writers Lauren Gardner and Mary Specht contributed to this article.
