THOUSANDS OF students across the US ‘Twin Cities’ [Minneapolis and St
Paul] walked out of class on 28 April to protest against the occupation
of Iraq and military recruitment in schools, and demanding money for
education and social needs, not war.
By Socialist Alternative members
Up to 900 students rallied at the University of Minnesota at Northrop
Plaza and listened to speeches from youth anti-war organisers. Chanting
"No justice, no peace, US out of the Middle East," and "Exxon, Mobil,
Chevron, Shell, take your war and go to hell," students maintained a
lively protest in the pouring rain.
Students took to the streets to march to a military recruitment
station, where one youth threw a can of red paint against the windows of
the recruitment station to symbolise the innocent blood spilled in Iraq.
When several trained peace marshals moved in to calm the situation,
University of Minnesota Police officers rushed into the crowd and
violently grabbed and arrested three of them.
Janae Marshall, post secondary MCTC student from South High, and also
a peace marshal, explained the circumstances of her arrest: "The officer
slammed my face against the wall and when I asked him for his name and
badge number he told me to ‘shut the f*** up and stop resisting’."
Ella Comeau, also a MCTC/South High student and a peace marshal, was
urging people to back away from the recruitment station when she was
arrested. "We were not the ones who threw the paint. We were wrongfully
arrested," explained Ella. "The paint on the recruiters window was washed
off within a couple hours, but the blood of innocents in Iraq can’t be
washed away," added Janae.
While the first three students to be arrested were released within 30
minutes, another protester, 21 year old Daniel Falla was arrested at
least 30 minutes after the incident at the recruiters’ station, blocks
away at the end rally behind Coffman student union. He is being accused
of felony and probably causing damage to property. He is being held until
at least Monday, when his bail may be set.
Chris Allison, who is coordinating Falla’s legal defence team, said:
"We are very concerned that the legal system will try to make an example
out of Daniel. Since the passage of the Patriot Act there has been a huge
rise in severe and unjustified punishment for non-violent civil
disobedience."
The Twin Cities Student Anti-War Walkout was organised by Youth
Against War and Racism, the Anti-War Organizing League, and Socialist
Alternative.
