Tree sit misguided

Tracy "Dolphin" McNeely is planning to sit in a tree on Bloomington's west side until a developer planning to build affordable apartments on the land stops the project. Although this effort is noble, the actions it involves are misguided.\n"Dolphin" is breaking the law by continuing this tree sit. The land on which her tree lives is privately owned and in the process of being developed by Indianapolis-based developers Herman and Associates. While she conducts her tree sit, she is trespassing on private property. Bill Brown, who owns the land, might or might not choose to press charges against her while she stages her sit-in, so she might or might not be arrested for her actions. \nHer protest is different from that of Julia "Butterfly" Hill, who recently spoke on campus about her tree sit, which saved trees in California. "Butterfly" staged her protest in a federal forest, not private property. \nProtests are important in our democratic society. They are an excellent way for concerned parties to voice its opinion to authorities and other citizens. \nMcNeely should be commended for sticking to her convictions. This community could use more people willing to go to bat for their beliefs. She has sacrificed all of the comforts of a home to protect the trees she cares about. \nBut breaking the law while protesting minimizes the positive impact the protest might have had. For a protest to be successful, the protesters must be more moral than that which they are protesting against. The protester should have the moral high ground, not the protestee.\nShe probably will not accomplish her goal because the land is private, and therefore the owners have a right to use it for the purpose for which it has been zoned, which is residential development. Although the company will be removing trees to build its moderately priced apartments for middle-class families, the developer has complied with state and federal environmental regulations. \nA more effective protest might have targeted state or federal agencies who set these regulations: a developer has little leeway to change policy, but legislators can do much more. \nStaff vote: 10-4-1\nYes-No-Abstain