Marquette Students in the middle
of the intersection of Wisconsin
and 16th street.

Today I attended a rally and march by Marquette students, the Ad Hoc Coalition of and for Students of Color. All year they have been in contact with Marquette administration on changes they would like to see for students of color and for Marquette’s relationship with the Milwaukee community. It has been all talk and nothing has been done, even a simple new cropping of the picture on the Marquette University seal to make it more inclusive. As I mentioned last week in a posting Marquette with donations from businesses is hiring its own prosecutor, district attorney. This move with making the Marquette Security Department the Marquette Police force, already armed, creates a dangerous environment for people of color on campus and the surrounding neighborhood.

The rally and march on the sidewalk were like many protest, speakers and chants. Suddenly while crossing the main streets of Wisconsin Avenue and 16th street four leaders of the movement lock arms and sat down in the middle of the intersection. Other marchers continue to march back and forth around the intersection. The Milwaukee police quickly gathered and blocked off this intersection. It was clear that the Marquette administration and the police did not want any arrest that would draw attention to this event. Now the public and student numbers grew and grew. Some Marquette students checking out what was happening joined in the march and blocking of the closed streets. Though it was rush hour for traffic the police just waited them out. This lasted over an hour and when the TV stations cameras arrived the police finally arrested them and put them in a van around 5pm.

By the six o clock news time Marquette had already put a spin on the news with public relations director and statement from President that they welcomed student activism and had been working with student leaders of the protest. By 10 o clock news some stations did not even cover the event and two just skipped it, although one had a camera and crew on the ground and a helicopter above that this picture, on the side, of the scene.

So what started off as a regular protest rally and march was heightened by the civil disobedience of these four students. No slick PR campaign or suppression of the news by Marquette University can cover up the underlying issues of these students and their supports.

Four seven years ago, almost to this exact date, a small group of student picketed a faculty dinner about the issue of “institutional racism”. This led to a major protest on campus the last week of school. The Marquette Administration said No to all the student demands, like offering scholarships to African American youth. The demands were dismissed, students were expelled and arrested but that summer the Marquette administration met in secret and began the process that led to the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) which Marquette reached out to minority community to bring it students of color. When I asked recently how many African American students were in the EOP program I got the run around but no answer. These days it seems easier to ignore than be transparent and accountable, even for the values and principles the school stands for and says “Makes a Difference.

The modern system for Universities seems to ignored the issues when possible, talk about them yet do nothing, marginalized leaders and ignore the message. Nonviolent actions like the act of civil disobedience of the four today cuts through to the heart of issues. You cannot ignore four students committing act of civil disobedience in the middle of a busy intersection in the middle of campus.

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