Recent student protests contradict local apathy

By MELISSA WILLIAMS
Collegian Staff Writer

Increasing student protests in State College this month may indicate that student apathy involving political issues is a thing of the past.

"Hopefully people are finally saying we shouldn't just sit on our butts anymore," Heidi Vischer, president of the Penn State Alliance for Animal Rights, said about the resurgence of protests on campus and downtown. "That's why I started this group."

Penn State Alliance for Animal Rights members protested the Gillette company earlier this month because it claimed the company uses animal testing in its laboratories.

Melissa Nugent (graduate-geosciences) said she agrees that more students are taking a stand on political issues.

"I think that students are more vocal because of increased environmental awareness," she said.

Members of the student group Eco-Action held a downtown protest against the use of a bovine growth hormone in cows. The members said the hormone could increase the occurrence of infection in the animal's udder.

One week later, Direct Impact Via Action (DIVA) sponsored a demonstration against all violence in the Centre Region. Four days later, Eco-Action was at it again with its campaign against insert advertising in The Daily Collegian.

Ben Perry, Eco-Action co-director, said he has been involved in the group for a few years and has seen issues emerge, but no one has ever protested them.

"We're finally getting to the point where initiatives started by Eco-Action and other environmental activists on campus are being followed through, and they are having an effect," he said.

But by protesting, Eco-Action and the Alliance for Animal Rights may be looking for publicity, said Robert O'Connor, associate professor of political science.

If a group wants free media coverage, it often holds a protest in order to obtain it, O'Connor said.

Janice Snyder, Eco-Action co-director, said she believes students are definitely more motivated to take a stand on political issues than they have been in recent years.

"I think that a lot of students see problems with the way our society is headed, and it's just a matter of making it seem like it's possible to make a change," she said.

O'Connor said another reason students may hold a protest is because they are concerned about an atrocity that has been taking place over time, and they think something should be done to correct it.

But compared with today, O'Connor said more student protests occurred in the 1960s because the possibility of being drafted for the Vietnam War was something that was affecting the lives of many students.

"The Hillel and the DIVA protests are more about the 'We're-mad-as-hell-and-we're-not-going-to-take-it-anymore' frustration. These groups believe that something must be done to raise public awareness," O'Connor said.

In order to inform the public, Penn State Hillel Foundation director Tuvia Abramson said, whenever someone makes an anti-Semitic remark, it is the responsibility of Hillel to respond.

On Feb. 3, Hillel members demonstrated against the coming of Nation of Islam representative Conrad Muhammad. The group charged Muhammad with making anti-Semitic remarks.

Abramson added that the student members of Hillel informed him that Muhammad was coming to campus.

"They came to me with the information about Muhammad, and were eager to do something about it," he said. "So they are motivated to take action."