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April 3, 2008

Plattsburgh State students to protest against protests

By STEPHEN BARTLETT

PLATTSBURGH -- Tensions run high in a country at war for more than five years and struggling economically.

Some take their frustrations to the street in protest. Plattsburgh State Student Association President Angel Acosta and others are holding a silent protest Friday to urge students to act strategically and to address perceived excessive force by law enforcement.

STUDENT ARRESTS

To illustrate his point, Acosta pointed to an event last month that resulted in the arrest of nine anti-war protestors.

"I am on both sides and think both had some kind of fault, and I don't think this should go unaddressed."

On March 18, about 60 people, most of them SUNY Binghamton students, marched down the eastbound lanes of the Vestal Parkway to protest the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War.

Police Conflict

Local police sprayed some activists with pepper spray, saying that the nine protesters who were arrested had pushed some officers. But protestors contended police escalated the situation.

Eight of the nine protesters arrested were college students.

"They had reserved a location to do a peaceful protest," Acosta said. "After a while, not all of them, but some involved, walked down the streets, disrupting traffic.

"Police had to put a halt to the rally using some kind of force by arresting individuals, and even though it was their place of duty to do that, they could have handled it better."

Acosta also pointed to an incident last September in which a University of Florida student was Tasered by campus police after repeatedly asking U.S. Sen. John Kerry about impeaching President Bush and whether the pair belonged to Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University.

The student, Andrew William Meyer, appeared to resist police when they tried to escort him from the room.

"The (Plattsburgh State) protest is motivated by acts like these," Acosta said. "I think there will be more acts like this by college students in the country."

DOING IT RIGHT

The Student Association president said students must be able to raise their voices strategically.

And police, he said, should use measured force when dealing "with the future leaders of tomorrow in non-violent protests."

Americans are living in stressful times with the Iraq War and unstable economy, Acosta said. Such times cause people to protest what they may perceive as injustices.

"But I think, as students, we are not in the Sixties anymore, and we need to find different ways to raise our voices. Protesting should be more strategic, comprehensive and productive today."

PROTEST FRIDAY

On Friday at 10:30 a.m., Acosta and others will meet at the plaza between the Angell College Center and Meyers Fine Art Building on campus. They plan to use banners, poster boards and silence to get their point across.

"We will raise our voice silently about how we feel about the situation," Acosta said.

"This is students standing up for students and trying to be objective about it."

sbartlett@pressrepublican.com

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