UNCA SDS co-chair Katie Sue Campbell

From Daily Planet Staff Reports

A protest rally, calling for a student walkout from classes, was staged on Oct. 7 by the UNC Asheville chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.

The protest, part of a nationwide campaign, featured a number of speakers in front of Ramsey Library on the Quad. Between 50 and 75 people attended the demonstration, including students, faculty and at least a couple of administrators.

Features standing out at the rally were two 2 X 4 boards, with one 15 feet long, representing the relative size of the U.S. military budget, and another 2 X 4 that is 1-foot long, representing the education budget.

 In referring to the difference, SDS activist Tony Francis said, “Education is a right, not a privilege.”

He also said, “Fund education not occupation” and “chop from the top.”

Before saying “thank you” to the audience, he jumped from the stage onto a wooden representation of the military budget, crushing it, as the crowd cheered.

In an interview afterward, UNCA SDS Co-Chair Katie Sue Campbell told the Daily Planet that “we’re excited” with the turnout and the speeches that were given.

While she estimated that fewer than 20 students walked out of their classes to attend the protest, Campbell said her chapter was pleased because that total, along with “over 20 students who walked out” on the previous day over “a miscommunication,” means the SDS is having an impact. She also said a number of protest participants did not have classes at the time of the rally, so no walkout was necessary for them.

In addition, Campbell said she has heard from a number of UNCA professors, who have been “supportive.”
“This was one of the best turnouts we’ve had for a protest on campus” since she became a student at UNCA in fall 2008. (The chapter was founded on campus in 2006.)

She added, “A big misconception was that we were attacking our university, when our message was addressing education nationally and recognizing ourselves in that.

“We’re rallying for educators and administrators to find in this, creative and equitable solutions.”

So is the UNCA SDS chapter critical of President Barrack Obama and his policies?

“Definitely,” Campbell replied. “Obama has made a lot of decisions on funding in Afghanistan” that the chapter opposes. “He keep barking about small businesses” and their need for help, while education, in her view, is getting shorted.

She said the chapter favors the president completely withdrawing — immediately — U.S. miltiary forces from Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.

“We believe in the self-determination” of people around the world, without U.S. interference. “We feel the United States is being imperialistic” in its military presence around the world.

During the 45-minute rally, Adriana Rosen said, “You can educate yourself without the help of this institution ... You guys know how to read — educate yourselves.”

After the first round of speakers, the SDS led the crowd on a march through the administration building, Phillips Halls, on the opposite end of the quad, waving signs.