Anti-recruitment protester arrested in Madison

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Grossman, Zoltan C. (GROSSMZC@uwec.edu)
Thu, 17 Feb 2005 10:19:54 -0600



Subject: Anti-recruitment protester arrested in Madison
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 10:19:54 -0600
Message-ID: <B14120EE5C432443B21102F7925DAD020142049D@COKE.uwec.edu>
From: "Grossman, Zoltan C." <GROSSMZC@uwec.edu>

From: JOHN EDWARD PECK <jepeck@students.wisc.edu> To: stopwaryouth@yahoogroups.com, announce@madpeace.org, madftaa@lists.riseup.net, madwobs@yahoogroups.com, essa@lists.stdorg.wisc.edu Subject: [MAPC-Announce] Anti-War Protester Arrested for Exercising Her Free Speech Rights at UW's Memorial Union Date: Feb 17, 2005 8:33 AM

>From Madison Indymedia website
http://madison.indymedia.org/feature/display/21869/index.php)...

********************* Anti-War Protester Arrested for Exercising Her Free Speech Rights at UW's Memorial Union

At 5:00 pm on Wed. Feb. 16th, UW Police selectively targetted Blake Trimbell for arrest as she and about two dozen others protested the presence of military recruiters at Memorial Union. Police were enforcing an obscure "no free speech at the Union except in the lobby" rule.

Earlier that afternoon, about two dozen protesters, both UW-Madison students and concerned Madison residents, attended the Multicultural Career Fair in Memorial Union's Great Hall. After passing through a rather Orwellian gauntlet of Union employees, checking and scanning ID cards, the anti-war activists discovered that not only was the Navy present, but also the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Dept. of Homeland Security. Protesters congregated around the Navy booth and began to inform other fair attendees that the military was not welcome on campus. Within a short time about a dozen UW police arrived to squash free speech as we know it.

Upon conferring with higher-ups, the Commanding Officer, Lt. Eric Holen, had some pretty amazing comments on the current police approach to civil liberties to share with protesters. He basically informed them that their mere presence constituted a "disturbance," no matter what they did. Shortly, thereafter one protester, Blake Trimbell, was singled out and arrested for "disorderly conduct" ($274 fine). This was despite the fact that about twenty other individuals were engaged in the exact same free speech she was doing -- holding signs and banners, chanting and singing, distributing literature, engaging passerbys. Selective and discretionary enforcement of "rules" by the police is nothing new and a tactic often used to intimidate citizens seeking to exercise their freedom.

The UW police were supposedly called by Union officials to enforce an obscure "no free speech at the Union except in the lobby" rule. A spokesperson for the union who was present could not provide those present with an actual copy of the supposed "rule," nor is it found on the Wisconsin Union's website. Repeated requests by campus activists over the years for a copy of this "rule," most recently just last week, have turned up nothing. If such a "rule" does exist, it is a clear violation of the First Amendment, as well as many state and local rules guaranteeing the freedom of expression, and needs to be challenged.

Ironically, the mere presence of the military itself, on campus is another flagrant violation of Wisconsin state statute and the University of Wisconsin's own policy which specifically prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, handicap, marital status, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, arrest record or conviction record. In its hiring, employment, and disciplinary practices, the United States military actively discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation, yet they are routinely allowed to exercise their institutionalized homophobia on campus without consequence. The usual penalty for defying state and university non-discrimination policies is denial of facilities, such as access to UW Memorial Union.

If you're interested in defending the "fearless sifting and winnowing for truth" at UW-Madison, then contact the Union Director, Mark Guthier, and UW-Madison Chancellor, John Wiley, to drop the charges against Blake Trimbell, and publicly reaffirm their commitment to basic democratic freedoms by also dropping the absurd "no free speech at the Union except in the lobby" rule.

Mark Guthier, Wisconsin Union Director mcguthier@wisc.edu #608-262-2263

John Wiley, UW-Madison Chancellor jdwiley@bascom.wisc.edu #608-262-9946

Those wishing to contribute to the General Defense Committee in support of Blake as she contests this charge, can send checks to the MAGDC Legal Defense Fund, P.O. Box 811, Madison, WI 53701



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This archive was generated on Thu Feb 17 2005 - 10:23:07 Central Standard Time