The student body doth protest

Today’s howling wind (gusting up to 54 mph) stirred up more than winter grit and long-dead leaves; student activists were moved to make some noise, accusing the University of Chicago Police Department of using excessive force in a January campus incident. At a noontime rally, some 100 students and community members demonstrated to support Clemmie Carthans, a black SSA student who allegedly was assaulted by two UCPD officers. ABC and NBC cameramen taped the rally, and Steve Klass, vice president and dean of students, was on hand. Once the protesters marched off toward the UCPD building, Klass explained to reporters that the case was being reviewed by an independent committee, and in the meantime the students had been granted the space to protest.

The rally culminated a flurry of student activism—several smaller demonstrations and flyer distributions took place recently decrying the rising cost of graduate-student health care, weapons of mass destruction, U of C Hospitals firings, budget cuts for Chicago-area educational institutions, laws against gay marriage, and the U.S. Patriot Act.

A.L.M.

03-05-04_image-1_thumb.jpg 03-05-04_image-2_thumb.jpg 03-05-04_image-3_thumb.jpg

Photos (from left to right): An orange outside Cobb decries the Patriot Act. Students protest Hospitals firings on February 25. Today's police-brutality protest.

March 5, 2004