Thursday, October 24, 1996
PROTEST:
Demonstrators block traffic on Wilshire Boulevard; 34 arrestedBy
Ryan Ozimek
Daily Bruin Contributor
About 700 UCLA students protesting the anti-affirmative action
Proposition 209 took their message to the streets Wednesday
afternoon in a rally and march that resembled last October’s
protest against the UC Regents’ decision to eliminate affirmative
action from the prestigious public university.
By the end of the day, 34 students were arrested for civil
disobedience after blocking traffic on Wilshire Boulevard for
almost two hours.
Under the shadows of the Federal Building, protesters shut down
the normally busy Wilshire Boulevard at 1 p.m., forming a massive
ring of students which itself contained another circle of
demonstrators who were eventually arrested by the Los Angeles
Police Department on misdemeanor charges for failure to
disperse.
The inner ring of demonstrators included student government
officials such as undergraduate student council (USAC) President
John Du, USAC External Vice President Alberto Retana and Graduate
Students Association (GSA) Internal Vice President Danise
Kimball.
"The government has gone too far," Du said, while drummers from
the Korean Cultural Awareness Group kept the crowd upbeat. "Once it
has stepped beyond the bounds of justice, we must challenge it.
"Civil disobedience is our last resort, but it must be done in
order to fight the injustices."
The so-called "mass action" began at 10:30 a.m. in Westwood
Plaza as protesters listened to speeches from students representing
organizations under the Affirmative Action Coalition. A rather
quiet crowd of about 300 listened to the speakers approach the
affirmative action issue from various perspectives.
Led by chants such as, "remember, November, vote no on 209,"
and, "Pete Wilson, you liar, we’ll set your ass on fire," the crowd
began its march at 11:30 a.m., walking east on Bruin Walk. By then,
the number of demonstrators had grown to about 600, and students
filled Bruin Walk from Westwood Plaza to Powell Library.
As noon approached, the demonstrators stopped in front of Powell
Library to wait for students leaving class to join the march.
"I think it’s really good that people are out there and are
voicing their opinions, but they can’t stop there, they have to
vote too," said junior transfer and pre-law student David Rencher.
"It’s a vote, not a voice, that counts."
Some students watching the demonstration, however, disagreed
with the protesters.
"With all these signs that (protest) 209, it doesn’t allow me to
see the positive side of affirmative action," said fourth-year
political science student Jeff Raven as the march passed in front
of Powell. "They’re saying that if you do support 209, you’re
racist. That’s not the truth."
After the brief stop, the protesters continued on to Campbell
Hall, where they were addressed by Kendra Fox-Davis of the African
Student Union.
"If Proposition 209 passes, this university will become an
oppressor, and I don’t pay $12,000 a year to be oppressed," Davis
said.
As the march turned towards Murphy Hall, students lunching in Lu
Valle Commons stopped eating and watched the demonstration.
Students and faculty in Dodd Hall peeked through windows and showed
their support by clapping.
When protesters passed the Faculty Center, visitors to the
university, along with a UCLA bus driver whose bus was blocked by
the protesters, showed their support for the protesters.
"I think it’s great that they’re doing this," said bus driver
Claudia Bonner.
Bonner invigorated protesters by honking her horn as the
passersby cheered her on.
Throughout the protest, organizers showed that their actions
weren’t haphazardly thrown together, but instead very organized.
Marchers stayed on one side of the road on their path down Westwood
Boulevard towards Wilshire as student security guards helped police
officers control traffic to keep protesters from being injured in
Westwood’s normally busy intersections.
"I think it’s obvious that they’re making their point and that
they’re getting a lot of support from others," said Assistant Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs Robert Naples. "The university is
very comfortable and familiar with the freedom of expression."
Naples added that as compared to last October’s protest, this
year’s demonstration was smaller yet more cohesive.
"This year’s event is a little more focused, because the march
is in conjunction with other events, such as voter registration,
precinct walking, and in general part of a larger (issue)," he
said.
As the protesters proceeded down Westwood Boulevard, cars were
forced into a semi-traffic jam for about five minutes. Some
motorists, including a corporate representative to the Career Fair
at Ackerman Union, supported the marchers’ message but wished they
weren’t there when it happened.
Honking horns and clapping surrounded the marchers as they moved
off campus at the corner of Westwood Boulevard and Le Conte Avenue.
Also surrounding the marchers were over 26 police cars lined up on
Le Conte which would follow the protesters through Westwood and
help block busy intersections.
While the crowd walked through Westwood, people stepped outside
local businesses and restaurants to watch the marchers. Some of the
onlookers supported the passing demonstrators.
After two hours of marching, the protesters reached the front of
the Federal Building, where they promptly created a huge circle,
extending between Sepulveda and Veteran Avenues, stopping traffic
in front of the Federal Building.
Before his subsequent arrest, Du said that he and his fellow
protesters sitting in the Wilshire divider would go peacefully once
police came to clear the intersection.
It took over an hour for police to forcefully break up the
demonstration. After failing to respond to a one- minute warning to
disperse from the street, police dispatched officers on horseback
to push back as many protesters as possible onto the sidewalk.
Horses came within inches of those sitting in the circle, forcing
them to quickly move before being trampled.
Then, police clad in riot gear took protesters one by one to the
nearby bus that would take them to the West Los Angeles Police
Department. Most of the arrested protesters stepped quietly onto
the bus, charged with failure to disperse, a misdemeanor that will
give them a criminal record. The demonstrators were later released
on their own recognizance.
"We are deeply appreciative of any situation where there is no
violence, period," LAPD Lieutenant Anthony P. Alba said. "Many
people were here, but there was no one from any other group causing
trouble."
With reports from Cecilia Faissol and Hannah Miller, Daily Bruin
Contributors.
JUSTIN WARREN/Daily Bruin
Police officers approach unidentified UCLA student activists who
obstructed Wilshire Boulevard in front of the Federal Building
during Wednesday’s anti-Proposition 209 rally. The activists were
later arrested.