35 protesters try to step into the national spotlight

Groups join to protest Clinton's policies on race

Approximately 35 students gathered on the Mudd Library ramp Tuesday with a dual agenda.

They hoped to vent their anger with the Clinton administration in full view of U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, who came to Oberlin as part of Clinton's Initiative on Race program, and get national television coverage in the process.

"We're hoping to take advantage of this opportunity of national media coverage to expose the Clinton administration's racist actions," sophomore Philip Locker, a member of the Labor Militant socialist organization, said before the protest began.

The small but fervent group of students consisted primarily of members of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) and Labor Militant, as well as independent environmentalists and concerned students.

The actions the students protested included the elimination of welfare rights and affirmative action, Clinton's "Tough on Crime" bill, and the anti-Arab sentiments perpetuated to gain public support in the move for the recent potential war against Iraq.

"I think it's really important that we oppose Clinton's ability to pose as an anti-racist President just by establishing a national dialogue while policies he's implemented have significantly hurt the minorities in this country," sophomore Gillian Russom, an ISO member, said.

Environmentalists attended the protest to express anger not only at Clinton's actions, but at Babbitt's as well. Some protesters said Babbitt recently has supported many acts which put endangered species at greater risk and destroy public lands.

"I'm here today to ask Bruce Babbitt to take a proactive stance toward ending racism in the U.S. toward all races, including Native Americans. He just authorized an act which will evict Navajo people from their homeland to create a toxic waste dump," junior Joshua Raisler-Cohn said.

The protesters gathered on the Mudd ramp to await the time when Babbitt, his security guards and several College administrators would walk from the Wilson Bruce Evans house on Vine Street to Mudd. Babbitt participated in a ceremony designating the Evans house as a national historic landmark, before walking to Mudd to speak in a closed panel on race relations.

Students chanted loudly as they scanned Wilder Bowl in search of Babbitt's party. Among their chants were slogans such as, "From Babbitt to Bill, a racist Capitol Hill!" and "Affirmative action under attack! What do we do? Act up, fight back."

College Director of Safety and Security Keith James asked the students to stand off to one side of the ramp as Babbitt approached Mudd. Although their chants grew louder, the protesters largely complied. They had earlier decided not to blockade the Mudd ramp at any time, but instead to stall Babbitt only briefly and to capture his attention with their chanting and the signs they held up.

The signs read, "Uphold our radical history. Defend affirmative action" and "Eviction notice: All species endangered or otherwise are to evacuate immediately. Your habitats are in the process of being sold to new tenants who will clearcut, stripmine and develop these properties."

Students who organized the protest also decided beforehand to make a concerted effort to keep the protest peaceful.

"The intent is not to disrupt anything but to raise awareness. I'm here to add a complementary angle to what Babbitt is saying, not to protest him as a person," Raisler-Cohn said.

This decision was made at the same time protesters decided not to rally at the Evans house. "I don't think that would be the place where a protest would be perceived right," Russom said.

Although the protesters all started out gathered outside of Mudd, they scattered once Babbitt passed them on his way to the fourth floor for the closed panel.

Several environmental activists remained outside, posing in their endangered species costumes for local newspaper photographers. They also held up an effigy of an Indiana Bat, one of Ohio's 19 endangered species, lying in a box that represented a coffin.

Other activists chose to follow Babbitt's party into Mudd. Once they were inside, they began chanting and banging on doors. James requested that they go back outside. "We had an agreement," he said. "Anything beyond this could be a judicial."

Instead, most protesters settled in Mudd 050 to watch the live broadcast of the panel taking place on the sealed-off fourth floor.

Anticipation quickly gave way to anger as the students realized that instead of the conversation they'd hoped to hear on Clinton's "racist" agenda, Babbitt and the few students and administrators sitting on the panel were discussing Oberlin-centric problems.

"I can't believe this. They're talking about program houses," Russom said.

"The dialogue is being limited to just Oberlin, and he's a national representative. We should encourage the students in the room with him to raise some national issues," senior Ramy Khalil said.

Others echoed their sentiments, booing at the screen on which subdued panelists were discussing issues of campus life.

Russom roused the angered students into action. "Are you guys willing to go up and chant outside the entrance to the fourth floor and see if we can get some of our issues heard by the national media?" she asked, mistakenly thinking that national media was present in the Goodrich room, where the panel took place.

Several protesters followed Russom and Khalil up to the fourth floor stairwell, where they continued to chant loudly. Their goal was for their voices to carry into the Goodrich room and remind the students in there to discuss welfare, affirmative action and environmental issues.

Although they believed they would be asked to leave by security officials who guarded the doors of the fourth-floor entrance, they were not approached by anyone.

After ten minutes the protesters decided to walk back to room 050 to determine from the broadcast whether the students in the Goodrich room had heard them or not.

Protesters returned to room 050 just in time to hear one student discussing the Clinton administration. Though they remained uncertain as to whether their chants had penetrated into the Goodrich room, the students cheered in response to the issues being raised on the screen.

Sign of the times: Socialists and environmentalists planned to meet Babbitt with an angry protest. (photo by Zach Fried)