The Power of PROTEST

Forty years ago, Dunn Meadow was the center of political activism -- or any activism at all -- on IU's campus. Once the main nerve for rallies, speeches and demonstrations, Dunn Meadow is now more frequently used for concerts and the occasional Frisbee match. \nWith the exception of a recent vigil marking the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal chemical disaster in December, Dunn Meadow has remained a fairly temperate area, which was not the case in the far less temperate time of the late 1960s through the early 1970s.\nIn the fall of 1968, open visitation in the dorms was a hot debate, cohabitation (unmarried couples living together) was against the law, the Ku Klux Klan wrote letters to the editor of the Indiana Daily Student and an actual black market existed on Kirkwood Avenue.\nNo doubt, these were highly charged times.\nIn May 1969, students boycotted classes to protest the budget decisions of major universities in Indiana. Purdue and IU alike joined forces at a demonstration in Dunn Meadow to address the situation and request that the administration lower fees, allow a student committee and eradicate tuition altogether by 1972. A month prior, United Students Movements organized an all-day rally with music and speeches to get student support and raise money for higher education. Students were united not only in their own college but also through rival universities and through an issue that brought them together in one place -- Dunn Meadow. \nStudents in 1970 were encouraged to go on a strike against classes and go through a "week of action" to protest the war in Vietnam. On May 7 of that year, the Indiana Daily Student reported more than 7,500 students gathered in protest. When marches were organized, students were picked up from their dorms and eventually ended up in Dunn Meadow for speeches, rallies and a candlelight vigil to mourn those who died in the war. Many of the marchers were harassed, and the general public didn't take the protestors seriously.\nThis led to an anti-war student fast for peace in Dunn Meadow, which was intended to prove a point through seven days of fasting rather than other alternatives, such as protesting, rallies and demonstrations. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when students united around a cause, they ended up at Dunn Meadow. \nCollege students all over the country gathered to take action -- which wasn't always as calm as fasting or a candlelight vigil. \nSome took over entire buildings; others attempted to burn them down in certain areas of the United States. In 1970, at Kent State University in Ohio, students reacted to Nixon's decision to bomb Cambodia by throwing rocks, breaking windows and attempting to burn down the ROTC building. In response, the governor called in the National Guard, which ended up firing at a group of students, injuring 13 and killing four. \nIn reaction to the events on campuses during this time, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of "free-speech zones," which are restricted areas on campus where students can hold protests and demonstrations. This policy was enacted to prevent student activity from disrupting classes. \nYet it also has been called into question regarding First Amendment rights. \nDunn Meadow, once an area for students to come together, is now the only true area on campus where anyone has the right to unite physically around a cause.\nFormer College Republican Chairman Angel Rivera, who held Support Our Troops and Get Out the Vote rallies in Dunn Meadow last semester, sees both sides of the issue.\n"It is important because it's the only free-speech zone, and it's sad that the whole campus is not," Rivera said. "At the same time, I don't want to see every nut liberal consuming every part of campus."\nThe area by the Sample Gates is also considered a free-speech zone, although gatherings there must be "sporadic" to be allowed, former President of College Democrats Mandy Carmichael said. If students who happen to believe in the same cause are coincidentally located near the Sample Gates, they have the right to protest there. Although Dunn Meadow does require permission from the Student Activities Office, it is rarely denied. \nIf Dunn Meadow is the only free speech-friendly place on campus, why do students rarely use it?\n"Dunn Meadow isn't a hot topic area -- there isn't enough traffic going by," Carmichael said. "There's really not much utility, considering to attract attention, you need to have people walking by. Woodburn would be a more practical place because of the amount of people that are there."\nIn December, the Association for India's Development held a vigil in Dunn Meadow to commemorate a chemical spill in Bhopal, India, that killed thousands and is still a medical and environmental issue in that area. In contrast to Carmichael's findings, many involved in the vigil were surprised with how easily they were able to convey their message.\n"Dunn meadow is a great place to hold such protests, being close to IMU and Indiana Avenue. There is a lot of space for a group to set up at the meadows and for people to assemble. So we'd definitely consider holding a vigil there again -- probably for the 21st anniversary of Bhopal," said president of AID Yogesh Simmhan. \nCarmichael said one of College Democrats' main concerns is appealing to the University concerning the free-speech zone policy. She hopes to get a student board together, including College Republicans and Libertarians, to get the message out that they are sincere.\n"It shouldn't just be a College Democrat issue -- it applies to everyone," Carmichael said. "It's a violation of our First Amendment rights. I could see it being more justified in a private university, but at a state school, it's inherently wrong that they're taking away students' rights." \n"When the Iraqi war broke out, there were protesters and a few locals camped out in Dunn Meadow, but there aren't too many demonstrations and rallies now," Carmichael said. "It wouldn't be too effective to hold anything there now, anyway, because no one really goes there."\nIUB Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis said he also thinks Dunn Meadow might not be the most conducive place for protests anymore.\n"Protest the protest area," he said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rachel Kenis at rkenis@indiana.edu.