Students
Learn Through Action and Organization
Students Organize Successful Teach-in but Coalition
Falters
by Tobias Smith
In
step with a national campaign protesting U.S. governmental responses
to the Sept.11 attacks, hundreds of students walked out of class
this Thursday to attend a student organized teach-in.
Events, including student discussions, faculty lectures, the film
9/11 and a letter writing campaign, began at 9 a.m. and continued
until 4:30 p.m., ending after more than 300 students signed in as
a testament to their participation in the national protest.
Organizers had notified faculty of the coming walk-out Wednesday
evening and on Thursday many faculty members encouraged students
to attend. On Sept. 11 we were in that class when we found
out about [the attack], so [our professor] said it was an important
part of the class, of the process to be here, Maitreya Levanchild,
a first year whose entire class voted to attend the teach-in, said.
While some professors showed support for the student action through
positive attitudes, others participated in a more visible way. I
spoke at the teach-in about the history of the Middle East. I had
no classes to teach so I did not have to face that problem but when
I had my talk at 1:45 there was a large and eager audience. The
students were serious, thoughtful and organized. I like that. Thats
why its great to be a professor at Oberlin, Professor of
Politics Ben Schiff said.
Others questioned the purpose of leaving class. I felt that
the teach-in was a lot more productive than the walk-out,
senior Manfred Elstrom said. Planning for the teach-in had been
done with a coalition of over 150 schools nationwide. At a
larger campus, if a third of the people dont go to class,
its a big deal, first-year Travis Heaney said.
While the teach-ins message was clearly anti-war, organizers
worked to stress the need for dialogue. Panels such as War:
For or Against were aimed at facilitating discussion.
Most student s agreed that more education is necessary. Being
at college is not just about the material that you learn from the
books and the lectures...its about being in the real world,
first year Naomi Altman said.
The Walk-Out / Teach-In was not the first action of this movement.
Less than a month ago more than 500 students and community members
gathered in Tappan Square to protest racism and war in the wake
of the events of Sept. 11. A week later, over 200 students organized
to travel to Washington, D.C. for the first rally of this movement.
In the weeks following the rally, student turnout has dwindled to
a handful of students.
The Coalition against Racism and War organized the gathering in
Tappan Square and the trek to D.C. As a broad based coalition, CARAW
boasted the membership of students from many different campus organizations.
With no formal elections or leadership positions, the group has
been run by consensus, though various individuals have asserted
a variety of moderation roles.
Initially, the group formed at a Socialist Alternative gathering.
It was a public meeting that was attended by all sorts of
people, and that turned into a coalition, senior and SA member
Ted Virdone said. Planning for the Tappan Square rally involved
volunteer committees, cooperation coming from many organizations.
Following the Tappan Square rally, attendance at coalition meetings
grew, culminating in a pre-D.C. gathering that drew over 150 students
and filled Wilder Main. Groups such as the Oberlin Peace Activists
League (OPAL) donated generously to the movement. However, internal
friction had, at this point, arisen and as leadership changed, many
students began to feel disenfranchised.
Its not just the students of color. Its not just
people with differing political ideology. People were feeling like
they werent being respected and they werent being listened
to, senior Christine Harley said.
The issue of identifying with leaders and who speaks on your
behalf and all that is an issue thats also based very much
along gender lines, sexual orientation and political agendas. Theyre
all very intricately connected and they all intersect in complex
ways, senior Nicolas Stahelin said.
With no elected representatives, it was unclear who had the right
to speak for the group. That was the difficulty. No groups
would necessarily commit, it was just individuals that were representing
them junior and SA member Erika Blechinger said. Members looked
to the Multicultural Resource Center to help facilitate dialogue,
but to date that has not occurred.
The fate of CARAW is still in question. Many students have begun
to seek out other forums for these issues. Theres a
lot of other places on this campus where theres discussions
being held...Its much easier to go into other smaller spaces
where you know that your voice is going to be heard and respected,
Harley said.
I think that there is a way that CARAW can still participate...[but]
obvious internal dynamics are taking place within CARAW that are
weakening it and ultimately if they dont get corrected will
destroy the organization, sophomore Shahana Siddiqui said.
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