College response galvanizes protesters
The only thing missing was batons, body shields and tear gas to subdue a bunch of students protesting a Canadian military booth at the college's annual career fair.
From a media perspective that would have been some great visuals, but instead we were treated to a bunch of students playing dead in front of the military's booth, with red dyed shirts to signify blood splatter. Jerry Garcia and Dead Head Nation this bunch wasn't. Some of the students were dragged out and some were actually handcuffed in front of a chaotic crowd in the area outside the Athletics Office in J-Gym.
Now imagine for a minute if security hadn't descended upon those playing dead. How long would have the die-in continued? Students at the Career Fair didn't seem to care as they stepped over bodies on their way to the military booth. Instead security officials at the college are left to look like the heavies, dragging students out of the Career Fair and handcuffing them. Judging from what I saw while I was there, employers on hand for the event were more concerned with sliding into J-Gym 3 for lunch then they were any of the bodies lying on the floor. Which brings me back to my original question, if nobody even cared that these kids were trying to make social commentary is it safe to assume they would have gotten up and left, disheartened that nobody cared for their little protest?
Instead the college's action in having these students removed from the Career Fair netted Fanshawe exposure it could do without. A Channel London eventually picked up the story, Interrobang was splattered with coverage of it, and CBC Radio had a report on it. Other newspapers picked up the story as well, and the Western Gazette called looking for us to give them campus contacts, even though those details were already in our original story that led the Canadian University Press national newswire that day. Because of all the coverage I even received a telephone call from our national advertising sales group out of Toronto wondering if it was still ok to run the full-page Canadian Military ad that week. For the record, we ran it and another one is in this week's edition, and hopefully more are on the way for future editions.
Judging by reaction on our website and the letters we have been receiving on the topic, it seems the Fanshawe community is nearly unanimous in giving the protesters their thumbs down. Receiving the largest venom is the pretense that Fanshawe doesn't have any programs related to military work, but I think students in just about any trade program could enhance their education and diploma with further training in their field of choice if they wanted to join the military. Office administrators, chefs and many more could find meaningful work in the military without having to fire a gun. Also coming under fire is a small groups attempt to censor another persons ability to make a choice.
Personally, I like the quote from Chief Petty Officer Second Class Peter Hale, who was on hand from Ottawa: “That's the greatest thing about the country we live in and Canadian society as a whole, that if they're not doing anything to hurt anyone, they're allowed to speak their minds.”
Fanshawe has a long way to go if muting student activism is on the agenda. This minor hiccup wasn't exactly Kent State University circa 1970, and hopefully in the future the college will realize that making mountains out of molehills isn't exactly good business.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
From a media perspective that would have been some great visuals, but instead we were treated to a bunch of students playing dead in front of the military's booth, with red dyed shirts to signify blood splatter. Jerry Garcia and Dead Head Nation this bunch wasn't. Some of the students were dragged out and some were actually handcuffed in front of a chaotic crowd in the area outside the Athletics Office in J-Gym.
Now imagine for a minute if security hadn't descended upon those playing dead. How long would have the die-in continued? Students at the Career Fair didn't seem to care as they stepped over bodies on their way to the military booth. Instead security officials at the college are left to look like the heavies, dragging students out of the Career Fair and handcuffing them. Judging from what I saw while I was there, employers on hand for the event were more concerned with sliding into J-Gym 3 for lunch then they were any of the bodies lying on the floor. Which brings me back to my original question, if nobody even cared that these kids were trying to make social commentary is it safe to assume they would have gotten up and left, disheartened that nobody cared for their little protest?
Instead the college's action in having these students removed from the Career Fair netted Fanshawe exposure it could do without. A Channel London eventually picked up the story, Interrobang was splattered with coverage of it, and CBC Radio had a report on it. Other newspapers picked up the story as well, and the Western Gazette called looking for us to give them campus contacts, even though those details were already in our original story that led the Canadian University Press national newswire that day. Because of all the coverage I even received a telephone call from our national advertising sales group out of Toronto wondering if it was still ok to run the full-page Canadian Military ad that week. For the record, we ran it and another one is in this week's edition, and hopefully more are on the way for future editions.
Judging by reaction on our website and the letters we have been receiving on the topic, it seems the Fanshawe community is nearly unanimous in giving the protesters their thumbs down. Receiving the largest venom is the pretense that Fanshawe doesn't have any programs related to military work, but I think students in just about any trade program could enhance their education and diploma with further training in their field of choice if they wanted to join the military. Office administrators, chefs and many more could find meaningful work in the military without having to fire a gun. Also coming under fire is a small groups attempt to censor another persons ability to make a choice.
Personally, I like the quote from Chief Petty Officer Second Class Peter Hale, who was on hand from Ottawa: “That's the greatest thing about the country we live in and Canadian society as a whole, that if they're not doing anything to hurt anyone, they're allowed to speak their minds.”
Fanshawe has a long way to go if muting student activism is on the agenda. This minor hiccup wasn't exactly Kent State University circa 1970, and hopefully in the future the college will realize that making mountains out of molehills isn't exactly good business.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
