Gonzales appearance sparks political discourse
Protest subdued compared to other Gonzales appearances
Sam Guzik
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
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Dressed in orange jumpsuits, bearing signs and chanting anti-Gonzales slogans, more than 100 Washington University students and members of the St. Louis community protested former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' speech on Tuesday night.
"In a few minutes, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will speak about civic duty," said Denise Lieberman, a professor of political science, during a rally that preceded the speech. "He has a right to speak, but we have a right to speak back."
During his remarks, Gonzales addressed the protestors, asking them to consider how they would act if they were the President facing an imminent threat. Gonzales' speech also detailed the imperative for civic action, even for those who don't vote.
"[The protestors] are saying they disagree with something and they want to change something. But it is not enough to protest," said Gonzales. "Many who complain the most do not even vote."
While the formal protest remained in an area outside the main entrance of the 560 Building, there were several occurrences during the speech itself meant to draw attention to the discontent over Gonzales' speaking appearance; these actions did not disrupt the flow of the speech.
On three occasions during the speech, individual members of the audience yelled out the phrases "liar," "traitor" and "perjurer" before walking out of the building while Gonzales was talking.
"Perjurer, you broke the law, you should be in jail," shouted one student who left during the speech, whose name was not available.
In another instance, a group of students that had left the protest to listen to the event chose to turn their backs on Gonzales, rather than applaud him.
The largely respectful treatment that Gonzales received broke with his reception at some other university appearances. For example, while speaking at the University of Florida, students dressed in orange jumpsuits and black hoods walked onto the stage and stood next to the former attorney general as he spoke.
"I think its great. We've got students on both sides and probably in the middle," said Jill Carnaghi, assistant vice chancellor for students. "They're doing it in a respectful way. They organized [the protest] and I give them a lot of credit."
Even though the protestors' actions did not prevent Gonzales from speaking, some students expressed frustration about their choice to take action within the speech.
"I think that while I would support anyone's right to protest, there was a more appropriate time to voice disapproval at the forum beforehand. It is rude to interrupt him and it violates my right to hear him," said Jason Friedman, a junior. "More people should have taken advantage of the forum. I commend him for doing it; not very many politicians would have."
The protest began with marches from the Big Bend MetroLink station and Ursa's to the 560 Building, where Gonzales' speech took place.
At the rallying points, organizers distributed premade signs, buttons bearing the slogan "No Torture" and over 75 orange jumpsuits.
The primary organizers of the protest were the College Democrats and the Washington University Peace Coalition, but several other groups took part including the St. Louis chapter of Amnesty International.
The protestors' slogans and signs drew attention to Gonzales' role in several controversial policies that had been implemented under the Bush administration, including extraordinary rendition, waterboarding and the denial of Geneva Convention rights to enemy combatants.
"There are a lot of issues we have with the policies Gonzales instituted when he was White House Counsel and Attorney General, [like] justifying torture, opening the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, systematically eroding civil liberties," said Eric Reif, treasurer of College Democrats. "All of these policies really take a toll on the founding ideals of this country, take a toll on our justice system."
-With additional reporting by Perry Stein and Mindy Wang
(Editor's Note: Student Life regrets that no audio of Gonzales' speech is available. This was due to restrictions on recording devices within the venue.)
Click here to view a video of the protest.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 11
Suze Que
posted 2/20/08 @ 5:14 AM CST
100 is "en masse"? 600 attendees is "only"?
Sharon Sharalike
posted 2/20/08 @ 7:32 AM CST
What is going on with this article? One link shows 3 responses this one shows none.
When I click on the link to the article in "Recent Comments" I get the message "link has changed". (Continued…)
adam
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:00 PM CST
The Post-Dispatch and other news organizations reported around 200 students.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/72C29B5360FCD443862573F500135CFC?OpenDocument
Also, there were probably somewhere between 300 and 400 people in the auditorium, and that number would have been cut in half if protesters had decided not to go. (Continued…)
Square Deal
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:41 PM CST
Like I said, If the public had been invited the hall would have been full to capacity.
Looky Here
posted 2/20/08 @ 6:43 PM CST
Excerpts from Springfield MO New Leader Online today's edition.
Written by Larry Rottman. These "tortures" of which we speak was inflicted on US Army officers during Training back in the 1960's. (Continued…)
Jared Lister
posted 2/20/08 @ 9:36 PM CST
republican vomit smells like, well, vomit.
way to reify garbage into a semi-sacred relic, young republicans!
you never cease to expose the absurd illegibility of your political (read: horrendously greedy) position!
Put Up Or...
posted 2/21/08 @ 12:58 AM CST
Since most of you Wash U protesting students are children of the wealthy and don't have to worry about earning a living at the moment, why not live abroad for a year or two in Iraq, Bagdad, Kabul, Rwanda, Darfur, North Korea, Mayanmar, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, really the possibilities are endless. (Continued…)
Joseph
posted 2/21/08 @ 11:56 AM CST
I would like to congratulate Jared Lister for continuing the "political discourse."
xman08stlouis
posted 2/22/08 @ 8:42 AM CST
thank goodness the u.s. supreme court has upheld the most of the bush administration's positions regarding the extraordinary means by which it and its state, defense, homeland security and justice departments have taken in this nation's war against terrorism (read: extreme and militant islamism). (Continued…)
Jerome Bauer
posted 2/26/08 @ 8:20 PM CST
WashU no longer has a sociology department, and its successor, Social Thought and Analysis, has merged with American Cultural Studies, for better or worse. (Continued…)
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