After participating in today’s protest against the construction of the University Recreation Center, I must say I came away very impressed by the level of student interest in the issue.

We had probably 25-35 students show up during the course of the hour-long demonstration. I have yet to hear the final count on the signatures we got on a petition for a re-vote, but I know several pages of signatures were filled. The News-Leader showed up to cover the event, as did The Standard, so that should also increase awareness.

Many of the attendees were members of the swim team. They are not very happy with the fact that this new pool (and lazy river) is being built (which is not Olympic sized and they cannot use), yet their own pool is in pretty bad shape.

Like the rest of the protestors, they also believe this project is a waste of valuable resources during a time when we are about to see budget cuts.

We even had a group of five or six anti-protestors along for the ride (and their couch).

This was my first protest, and it was a lot of fun. It was really nice to see students have such strong feelings and voice them, especially over a campus issue. Too often, students just seem apathetic.

I got a chance to talk to Justin Wieberg, a student working in Campus Recreation who was part of the opposition to the protest. We had a friendly debate over the issue. Of course, he informed me this is really a non-issue, since their is no way at this point they will not build the thing. I guess he thinks we are wasting our time protesting it. In reality, the facility is set to break ground next month, so it probably is a long shot to put the breaks on it. But it’s not over til it’s over.

Of course, for it being a mute issue, I find it interesting he would spend his afternoon handing out pro-rec center fliers to students to combat our anti-rec center protest. If opposition is doomed to fail, why bother?

Do you know what a protest is? If you were asleep in your grade school history classes, protesting is that little addition to our Constitution that makes it legal to peacefully and publicly disagree.

If this is review for you, why haven’t you taken action? You’re a college student! Surely there must be something you disagree with. Every new generation’s youth is bound to get riled up to the point of mass public assembly.

What is it that pushes your buttons? Bummed out bud’s not legal? Feel the failure of Prop 8 is blatant integration of church and state? There’s lots to choose from, and unless you’re in a coma (be it clinical, technical or medical), something irks you, and it’s time to take action!

Sadly, most of us shrug off our chosen sentiments at this stage, and Springfield streets, full of potential for activism, are viewed routinely, and with the same bland indifference.

What is the source of this protest-procrastination, this inability to take action? I provide the reason— reality —in three parts.

First, many college kids don’t think protesting is necessary. Others doubt the effectiveness of suggesting change at all. There hangs a cynical haze over us, a cloud ever-murmuring “there’s nothing we can do.”

To them I say, shout louder! Protest gives us citizens the perfect opportunity to usher in change. Consider the civil rights movement of the 1960s – if protest worked to change the law then, why then is it absent now, when the law makes many angrier than I’ve ever seen any hippie get?

Another factor in our inactivity is the fear of backlash. I’ve overheard students planning to attend a tea party rally, nervously speculating the legality of holding a sign in a public place. As they worked themselves into a theoretical frenzy of canines and cop cars, I again think back to my history lessons of women suffragettes being beaten, political radicals starving in prison, rock stars and presidents (pretty much all our good orators) murdered and wonder why they did it. I like to think it was because they couldn’t help but stand up for what was important to them. Have 50 years changed this?

The final source for the lack of protest is the fear of being labeled an extremist. The words “protestor” and “radical” are not synonyms, yet a relationship persists between the two. The horrendously cruel actions of sickos like Osama Bin Laden on 9/11 and more recently Joe Stacks from last month suggest ramming a plane into a building makes a bigger statement than a peace rally does. It is our duty to actively disagree, to model the life of a true American revolutionary — in dedication of ongoing service to a cause.

Protest is not a dirty word! Our country was bred and fed on internal protest. It is our civil responsibility not only to stay informed on what affects us, but to act accordingly to keep the laws and legal practices that govern us in sync with the times. American law is not etched into stone. We would do well, as socially sensitive beings, to recognize this, and dare to not just question out government, but to demand our voice be heard.

A group of Missouri State University students are planning to protest construction of the University Recreation Center, a $22.9 building set to break ground next month.

The protest will occur from 2-to-3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23, outside Carrington Hall on campus.

“There’s a Facebook group of over 150 students against the construction,” said protest organizer and Missouri State student Heather Welborn. “The most commonly posted reasons to rethink the project range from, ‘I’ll never use it,’ to ‘I don’t want to pay for it.’”

Welborn believes the construction is a waste of valuable resources during a time when the budget is incredibly tight.

“My goal is to shed light on an issue many at Missouri State feel strongly about,” she said. “This project is largely an awareness campaign.”

Welborn plans to circulate a petition calling for a student body re-vote “to see if this project is still in line with how students want their money spent.” Students originally approved a $16.5 million renovation of McDonald Arena in 2006, which later evolved into the construction of an entirely new building.

Welborn said students who cannot attend the protest but are interested in the cause should join a Facebook group called “MSU Students Against Construction of the University Recreation Center.” Information about further efforts to stop this construction will be posted there, she said.

“A protest is a great way to increase awareness on campus,” Welborn said. “It encourages student involvement in shaping and questioning the policies that directly effect them. If you hear about the Rec project for the first time through the protest, we made a difference.”

]]> http://www.msu-underground.com/archives/1114/feed 3 http://www.msu-underground.com/archives/492 http://www.msu-underground.com/archives/492#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:00:44 +0000 Zach http://www.msu-underground.com/?p=492 Zach Becker

Editor-in-Chief

The message on the signs are clear. Firearms are not allowed on the Missouri State campus, concealed or otherwise.

But will those signs stop a maniacal gunman?

Not according to MSU non-traditional student Andrew Simpson, who believes tragedies like the shooting at Virginia Tech could have been averted had law-abiding students been allowed to carry licensed concealed weapons on campus.

Students are protesting concealed carry bans on campus by wearing an empty holster.

All this week, Simpson and thousands of other students at MSU and around the nation will be protesting bans on concealed weapons on college campuses. But they won’t be carrying signs or shouting on megaphones. Instead, the message will be conveyed simply by wearing an empty holster.

“The empty holsters show that there really is not a whole lot of protection between you and (the assailant),” Simpson said. “Give us equality on campus. If bad guys can have (guns), why not us?”

A determined maniac willing to die in the process of killing others could obtain weapons, including automatic rifles, illegally through black market channels fairly easily, according to Simpson, which is why it is so important that students be allowed to carry concealed weapons to defend themselves. The mere threat of return fire may be enough to scare some assailants away.

According to Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, 11 schools around the country allow concealed carry on campus, and none have reported incidents of gun violence in the several years since it has been allowed.

“Virginia Tech was a disaster,” Simpson said. “We need to do something creative and new (to prevent future disasters).”

Students who wish to know more information about this cause can contact Nelson at (417) 551-1210. He is encouraging other students to participate in the protest by simply wearing an empty holster. Information from Students for Concealed Carry on Campus can be found at www.concealedcampus.org.