Next Left Notes Is A News Magazine Devoted To Direct Action
Central Florida SDS Marches On Recruiting Center
By Jay Jurie, SDS/MDSer from Central Florida
Jay Jurie (Photo Credit: Central Florida SDS)
On Monday, March 20, 2006 at 12:30 pm University of Central Florida (UCF-Orlando) Campus Peace Action and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a brief rally in front of the UCF Student Union commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the start of the war against Iraq. This was immediately followed by a march to the nearby off-campus Armed Forces Recruitment Center.
A short while after the groups gathered, a representative of Student Union management came out to inform the gathering it was not in a properly designated "free speech zone." The groups ignored this, and then uniformed UCF police officers showed up to enforce the free speech ban. There were some confrontational exchanges, and it looked briefly as if there might be some arrests.
On The March (Photo Credit: Central Florida SDS)
The groups decided it was time to start the march anyway, so headed off across the campus with banners, signs, a Corporate America-logo flag, a bullhorn, chanting, and exhortations to "join us." Meandering across campus, there were about 35 participants. It seemed likely campus police would try to halt the march. Amazingly, there was no police presence, though when near the edge of campus, a UCF police car with flashing lights did show up and parked nearby. The group continued on across Alafaya Blvd. to the Armed Forces Recruitment Center in the shopping plaza across the street.
SDS 3rd Anniversary Cake (Photo Credit: Central Florida SDS)
Three cakes had been baked to present to the recruiters, one cake for each year of the war. Arriving at the Recruitment Center, the group found the doors locked, though there was obviously activity inside the blinds-drawn and darkened offices. This also happened in the "old days," such lock-out tactics are commonplace. Perhaps the recruiters were fearful the cakes were really plastique.
Activists confront a recruiter (Photo Credit: Central Florida SDS)
After some milling around, an impromptu rally was held in front of the recruitment offices. At one point a Navy recruiter arrived and was engaged in debate by a couple of the students before he used his key to enter the offices. He contended any concerns about the war had to be referred to those in charge, as he was only doing his job. Eventually an Orange County Sheriff's Department vehicle showed up, the deputy knocked on one of the office doors, was admitted, and the door locked again behind him. Several more Orange County sheriff's cars were parked around the back of the building.
This was the most spirited campus protest I have personally experienced since the early 1970s. Though a crew from Channel 6 (CBS) local news was present, the rally and march received no air time, perhaps because there were no arrests and the cakes didn't explode.
A spirited group of activists (Photo Credit: Central Florida SDS)
Central Florida SDS is in the process of making a video of the protest, for further info email ucfsds@gmail.com
View Photos From The Action
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