Protestors respond to Rove’s visit
Protestors lined the pathways between the Schine Student Center and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications on Wednesday in response to Karl Rove’s visit to Syracuse University.
‘I think we have a fantastic welcoming party for him,’ said Amy Snider, president of the College Democrats, in a speech at the protest.
The protest, organized by the College Democrats, was not officially directed at Rove himself, but against Rove’s facilitation of corporate greed within the political system, Snider said. The protest began at 6 p.m. and lasted until 7 p.m.
Rove, former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to former President George W. Bush, spoke at an event organized by the College Republicans in Schine at 7 p.m.
Students and representatives from community organizations held signs, chanted anti-Rove messages and passed out fliers. Signs bore messages such as ‘Tax the 1 percent,’ ‘Corporations are not people’ and ‘Super PACs undermine democracy.’
‘Every single person’s vote should count, and every single person should be able to be represented in their government, not just people who are millionaires and billionaires who can make huge campaign donations and therefore have a bigger say,’ said Lauren Ford, health care organizer for the progressive membership organization Citizen Action of New York.
At about 6:30 p.m., representatives from College Democrats, the Syracuse Peace Council and the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism coalition, or ANSWER, stood on benches to make brief speeches.
‘Somehow we went from a country where your vote matters to where your money matters,’ Snider said to a responsive crowd.
Ursula Rozum, a staff member at the Syracuse Peace Council, furthered Snider’s message by urging people to sign a petition for the Move to Amend campaign, which seeks to end corporate personhood.
Phone Myind, a graduate student in public administration, said he agreed with the protesters and supported the Move to Amend campaign. He said he would both join the protesters and attend Rove’s presentation because he was interested in hearing the opposite perspective.
Brigitte Eisenkeit, a local community member, said she also came to see Rove even though she doesn’t share his views. She said she thought the protest, like any protest, is important in showing the opposing sides of an issue.
Snider said that the location of the protest was beneficial.
‘We are effective in raising awareness because this is a highly traversed area on campus,’ Snider said. ‘In addition to the amount of press that we’ve received just for announcing that we’re having a protest — I think our message is getting out there.’
Snider also said she was happy with the turnout of the protest overall.
She said: ‘We’re able to make a big impact with the number of people that we have.’
Published on February 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm
