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Chanting “holding change accountable,” more than 50 University of Wisconsin students marched down to the Capitol Saturday demanding lower state tuition, an increase of grant aid, retention and recruitment of students and faculty of color, and green jobs.
Nine student organizations organized by the Progressive Student Alliance marched to the Capitol and held a rally in the Humanities building, alerting campus leaders, political officials and President Barack Obama that they are expecting economic change.
“Even though Obama is the new president, and we’re really happy with that, we want him to know that we expect him to follow through on all his promises to the students,” said Tosha Songolo, a UW sophomore and member of the Student Progressive Alliance.
Songolo, a supporter of the retention and recruitment of students and faculty of color, said it is important for students like her to see people of color around campus, and added many of her friends who have recently graduated from the UW are unable to find a job. By the time she graduates, Songolo expects more jobs to be more accessible.
March organizer Sofia Snow, a UW sophomore and member of PSA, said the purpose of the rally is to hold change accountable. Snow said she considers the first step to change electing Obama into office, but education is a right and students are entitled to accessible and affordable education.
“We’re in the era of change; we’re in the area of hope, of possibilities and opportunities. A lot of us feel that we actually have a chance to be heard,” Snow said.
Marchers carried signs representing the vast array of causes they represented. A banner held by a few students headed off the group read, “A neglected generation speaks. We’re holding change accountable.”
Students from the Campus Antiwar Network were also participants in the march for change.
UW senior Rob Lewis, member of the CAN, said according to his research, the billions of dollars the U.S. has spent on war could have funded the entire country’s college education.
He added war is just a way to hold control over a nation and has a major effect on the cost of his education.
“We have a lot of money we can use in different ways, and it’s no excuse for using it on war,” Lewis said. “It does not benefit the average person, and it does not keep us safe because violence does not end violence, it creates more violence.”
Tony Uhl, a UW senior and chair of Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group, agrees the country is dedicating too much money to war when it should be allocating its resources to greener jobs.
Uhl said the country needs to invest in college students in the green infrastructure.
He added more than 50 percent of bridges in Wisconsin are deficient and about to collapse, and added the country should distribute money to fixing these defective structures instead of building unnecessary new roads.
“We’re a collection of college students that just care about our future,” Uhl said.
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50 people? 50 people? Are you serious? There was at least 200 people at the Humanities where the rally ended.
Awful, awful reporting.
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There were a LOT more than 50 people…what the…????? SERIOUSLY?
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even if it was 200 people who cares? this university has 40,000 people. 200 people showing up is not a newsworthy story. hey im having a pub crawl in two weeks and 250 people are coming. it better be reported in the badger herald. BOMB2K9!
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What a waste of time. Get rid of the megaphones, posters, and pins and do something productive.
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I’s sure news of this rally was the first thing on Obama’s desk this morning
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yo the number and its lack of 40,000 just shows how uneducated the students of UW are about the very things that affect them. not newsworthy? forreal? activism is no longer accepted huh?
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Each person stands for change so 50 or 200 it should be viewed as a positive response. I was glad to be a part of the march on Saturday. People need to start showing some more respect to minorities at this school. Out of those 40,000 students, who are the empathetic ones who really give a damn? Let’s start there and see if the White Privileged will shut the hell up for once.
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NOT newsworthy. and “white privileged’?! we have a racist on our hands folks.
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“more than 50 percent of bridges in Wisconsin are deficient and about to collapse”
This is not even close to true.
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“we want him to know that we expect him to follow through on all his promises to the students”
Those who will be most disappointed in Barry HO will be those who voted for him.
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Of course the Badger Herald reported this. They’re slaves to anything the loony left throws to them because it fills their paper with content and gets idiots like us to comment on their website. The Herald cares less about “news” and more about getting people riled up. They’ve been doing it for years. Bravo Tom Schlamo, bravo, another story about a protest. May we have another?
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How the hell is saying “White Priviledged” being racist? Not even close. Take a few classes outside of your comfort zone dealing with race and tell me that this concept doesn’t exist in the United States. I’m just stating facts.
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With an understanding that Universities stand for intellectual curiosity and as forums for the exchange of ideas—a rally with students represents a coming together of those essential characteristics of institutions of legitimate learning. We need more of this.
That’s what’s most important about the demonstration, whether there were 50 [ in an apparent inaccurate count ] or 200. It’s encouraging to see that people are demonstrating their passion and commitment—in an amazing method of communicating with a public that might value ‘pub crawls’ over political action.
Kudos to the Herald for covering the Rally, the organizers of the event, and especially everyone who went.
I’m discouraged by the dialogue in the comments, the “loony left” ? Really? “Barry HO?”
I’d like to just put out there that ALL the embittered individuals and their really tired disdain for progressive politics can be latent and whiny all that they’d like. Leave it to students like these or the “loony left” to carry the torch towards what a real democracy looks like. —- I’d like to see even 50 of you meet in freezing cold to do anything remotely productive.
xc
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Maybe this “Fantastic Fifty” should have recruited some of their peers who were doing something a bit more productive; that is, those at the snowball fight.
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I see that the first anonymous writer posted their comment at 3:03 a.m. Get real! Did you stay up all night thinking about something provocative to write? If so, the admission folks at UW should reevaluate who they are letting in to this once fine institution.
Our new President has asked us to do something constructive, make sacrifices, serve the communities we live in, etc. Although marching to voice your feelings about change is your god given right (at least in this country), it contradicts, to a certain extent, the message Obama has been sending. Your time marching could have been better spent helping out at a soup kitchen. Oh that’s right, you just want to reap the benefits of change vs. actually being part of it.
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I usually don�t respond to these comments, but I was compelled after reading the above statement that the students protesting would have better served their community by volunteering. You�re right; volunteering is a great way to address the concerns of the community. More people should do it, and I imagine many people who attended the rally have also done direct community work.
However, volunteerism (as you mean it) typically addresses the immediate needs of the community rather than confronting why there is a need in the first place. Volunteering at and donating money to food banks and shelters are all invaluable and necessary acts, but they do not directly address the causes of hunger, poverty or homelessness. Simply put, they do not make jobs pay their employees living wages, provide the funds for college preparatory courses (ap courses) for all schools so more students can access higher education, confront the exorbitant costs of healthcare (including mental health,) and so on. Organizing, (which in this context means petitioning, attending rallies, writing to your representatives in mass, electing officials who share your concerns, boycotting exploitative businesses, contacting media, etc) is an effective way of explicitly confronting these issues that contribute to poverty.
And if you don�t believe me, well, I am sad to say that you do not know your history�even the horribly exclusive version. The fact that we have public schools, that some jobs offer healthcare to their employees, or that I, a black woman, could even vote in the last election was all possible because people organized and demanded change. (Side note, white women didn�t get the right to vote until 1920 and black people, until 1965.)
So, instead of dismissing last Saturday�s rally, or more upsetting, dismissing organizing in general as useless, ask yourself, what is preventing you from fighting for your own rights? Most of us are pretty much facing a $20,000 debt when we graduate into what will likely be a poor job market. And since politicians generally sleep on the student voice, without a vigorous push for change, this amount will likely increase.
I guess what I am saying is rather than chastising the people who turned out to fight for our right to affordable education, increase the numbers for next time.
Peace, Summer