Yesterday went great. But, as Lavar Burton says, you don’t have to take my word for it.
Lev S. Hirschhorn, one of the main organizers of the event:
That was a fantastic protest, I was really impressed by everyone’s dedication. Our very rough counts estimate that at our largest we had about 120 people present.
Father Cuenin and Alex Kern will be holding another vigil tomorrow (as they do every thursday), from 12:10 PM to 12:30 PM in the peace circle. Lets all show up and keep the energy alive!
The Daily News Tribune –
“Five years” was scrawled across her face.Liza Behrendt displayed her war opposition with face paint as she led her fellow students on a march across the Brandeis University campus yesterday.
“Brandeis has a history of social activism. We felt that if we didn’t hold something on campus we’d be neglecting that legacy,” she said. “We really want people to think about the human impact of this war.”
And, my favorite, on the front page of the highly-excellent TPMCafe:
My office is at Brandeis University. Today as, I walked down the curving path that carries everyone through campus, I noticed that, lining the path, at very short intervals, were small American flags. A sign explained that there was one for every 10 American soldiers who had died in Iraq.
It’s a long path. There were hundreds of flags.
By the time I made it across campus, tears were running down my face. It’s not the Vietnam Memorial, but I found it profoundly moving nevertheless. I send my admiration to the students who organized it.
…
And we had to walk through it simply to cross the campus. There is no way to avoid that path: you were surrounded by a numbing repetition of death, death, death. I found that turning the American flag into that meaning was simultaneously affecting and respectful.
That last blurb was written by E.J. Graff, “Senior Researcher at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism … Resident Scholar at the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, ” and, most intriguingly,” a senior correspondent for The American Prospect and a contributor to TPMCafe.com.” A contributor to TPMCafe and TAP on campus? Brandeis just got so much cooler.
Never forget – we students occupy a space of cultural symbolism. Our actions reverberate farther than just across campus. The world is watching.
Awesome. Will do.
Good job, all. I was so very very moved and proud to give a national shout-out to Brandeis. Come say hi sometime. My office is in the Goldfarb library.
EJ Graff
This last point you made is SO TRUE. As students at a well-known and respected university, we have a se before us to make actions that will attract notice. That opportunity does not exist for most people. We have to seize it while we are here!
yeah, I’m so glad we made TPM… so many people read that!
Way to Go! I love TPM, and I’m really glad you’re getting this out there. Fantastic job, everbody.