Protesters
continued from page 1
Sacred Heart Medical Center and in
structing them to walk with, not
against, traffic on one-way streets for
safety reasons, Stronach said.
“(Good communication) made
those marches a lot smoother, and
everybody was happy,” Stronach said.
“But if we can’t take first precautions
to prevent gatherings from becoming
unlawful, it can be a nightmare.”
At the Feb. 15 protest, EPD offi
cers prevented a “splinter” group —
typically separate from the majority
of protesters — from physically
blocking the Ferry Street Bridge,
EPD spokeswoman Kerry Delf said.
Estimated to include more than
2,000 marchers, the overall protest
was based at the Eugene Federal
Building where three individuals
were cited in lieu of custody, mean
ing they were arrested but not jailed.
Officers were forced to shut down
Seventh Avenue at Pearl Street to ac
commodate for the overflow into the
street, Stronach said.
At a march a month later, another
splinter group attempted to block the
Ferry Street Bridge and were turned
around by a line of EPD officers. At
that protest, seven people were arrest
ed during what Stronach said was
more of a local spectacle than a
demonstration for a political cause.
“It’s not what we would have liked
to have occurred,” he said.
In both instances, EPD officers
were able to keep marchers from ob
structing traffic on the bridge, but
Stronach said that doesn’t mean the
groups’ intentions are forgotten.
“Recent protests have gone well,
but we will not close streets the way
we have in the past.”
During an anti-war march on
April 3, EPD officers reported that
three female University students
persisted in stepping off the sidewalk
and obstructing traffic while walking
toward the Federal Building. When
they reached the building, two of the
students were cited for “suddenly
leaving the curb” during the march.
Freshman Vanessa Dudley, one of
the two cited, said she didn’t have
much of a choice because a patrol
vehicle stopped in front of her and
her friends as they were leaving the
protest. Although aggravated by the
089 fine, Dudley said the violation
will not deter her protesting spirit.
The third student, however, re
fused to stop walking when an offi
cer attempted to cite her, Delf said.
In her EPD report, the arresting offi
cer repeatedly instructed the stu
dent to stop, then grabbed her by the
backpack — which she shrugged
onto the ground — and even
reached for her hand, which the stu
dent yanked away, Delf said.
The officer reportedly advised the
student that she had increased the
severity of her charge from traffic ob
struction to failing to obey an officer
Advocacy
continued from page 1
“In this business, you very rarely
get a hands-down win,” Bergel said.
Alex Gonzalez, an organizer and
founding member of Students for
Peace, agreed that peace protests
aren’t a radical method of overturn
ing public policy, but rather a grad
ual way of adding new perspectives
to public consciousness.
“It might not change overnight,
but the mentality of people starts to
change,” Gonzalez said.
History Associate Professor
Daniel Pope, a University expert on
movements of protest and dissent
in America, said many people
might draw parallels between the
current anti-war movement and
peace protests during the Vietnam
War, but there are also several dif
ferences between them.
One thing that set the current
protest movement apart was that it
started before the United States had
even gone to war against Iraq,
whereas the American public had
been in support of the Vietnam War
at the start of the conflict.
Another dividing line between the
two anti-war movements was that
during the Vietnam War, many peo
ple thought that losing the war
against Vietnam would be a good
thing and would teach the U.S. gov
ernment a lesson in humility, and
this line of thinking hasn’t been
prevalent in the peace movement
against the war in Iraq.
KING KOIL
FIRM SUPPORT
TWIN SET $169°°
FULL SET $199°°
QUEEN SET $259°°
10-Year Warranty
KING KOIL
SUPER PLUSH
TWIN SET $23900
FULL SET $289°°
QUEEN SET $359°°
KING SET $459°°
10-Year Warranty
KING KOIL
PILLOW TOP
TWIN SET $299°°
FULL SET *359°°
QUEEN SET *399°°
KING SET $599°°
10-Year Warranty
Bring in this ad for FREE DELIVERY
jf AMERICAN
Mon - Sat 9-6 MATTRESS
sun 11-5 MANUFACTURING
4075 W. 11th
343-2690
to interfering with police, at which
point the student stopped walking
and was handcuffed and arrested. As
a result, what would have been an
$89 fine for unlawful use of a road
way became more than $500 bail
with higher fines, Delf said. The stu
dent was reportedly charged for fail
ure to obey the lawful order of a po
lice officer — by walking away —
and interfering with police — by
pulling away — and was released
shortly after.
In general, Stronach said prob
lems that lead to protest arrests
sometimes have less to do with the
message of the protests and more to
do with marchers making a scene or
desiring a confrontation.
“Our number one objective is
preventing protesters from infring
ing on other people’s rights,” he
said. “The cops don’t object to peo
ple protesting, but the sheer num
bers at these protests wouldn’t al
low them to fit in the area. So they
extend into the roadway.”
Although some individuals may
think it’s their right to walk away
from a police officer issuing a cita
tion, Delf said, civilians don’t get to
make that decision.
“If an officer says ‘Stop,’ it’s in
your best interest to allow yourself
to be cited,” she said. “Otherwise,
your refusal can be a new offense.”
Contact the reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
Pope added that even though
anti-war protests didn’t stop the
United States from going to war
with Iraq, people shouldn’t dismiss
protesting as an ineffective way to
create change. He said the Bush ad
ministration had been hell-bent on
going to war for months, and noth
ing that the movement did was go
ing to change that.
However, Pope added he has hopes
that the current movement will be
able to prevent the U.S. government
from attempting to engender regime
changes in more countries.
“I don’t think we should underes
timate the power of large-scale, sus
tained protests,” Pope said.
Contact the senior news reporter
atjenniferbear@dailyemerald.com.
in Journalism,
Positions being
filled include:
reporters
(sports, entertainment,
news, editorial)
photographers
graphic designers
• advertising design
advertising sales
016293
GEOGRAPHIC
rwitaftonir
Dunham
AVALANCHE
BANFF
MOUNTAIN
FILM FESTIVAL
www.banffmountainfestivafs.ca
Culture production of The Banff
WHIN:
SATURDAY. APRIL 19th
7PM.
WHERE:
|f
1 MCDONALD THEATRE
l (corner of 10tb and
| Willamette).
COST:
$8 DO STUDENTS a OP CO
OP MEMDERS.
$10 GENERAL ADMISSION.
(Ticket prices increase $2
at the deor).
Tickets can be purchased
at EMU rickets, REI and
all Fastixx outlets.
Discounted tickets only
available at REI Eugene
and EMU Tickets
Special requests
related to disabilities
can be made at the
OP office,
(541)346-4365