Clarification appended
Holding signs that read "End Torture" and "Close Guantanamo," two students in orange jumpsuits stood inside a faux prison cell made of cardboard slats lying on the ground.
Except for their eyes, their faces were covered with black cloths as they stood in the middle of the HUB lawn.
Their demonstration was part of the Penn State's Amnesty International chapter's rally yesterday. The rally was held in conjunction with the National Week of Student Action and pertained to detainees of Guantanamo Bay and the torture that allegedly occurs there. Ten students from Penn State's chapter participated in the rally.
Emily Helms (junior-international politics), co-coordinator for the group, said that every year, the topic of the National Week of Student Action changes, and students involved in Amnesty International clubs across the country vote on the topic. This year's topic is Guantanamo Bay.
As she held a long rectangular sign, Helms said Guantanamo Bay isn't accomplishing anything.
"It's an institution that will be on America's record for a long time," Helms said. "It's our responsibility to say we don't want America to be a country that stands for torture."
Helms said although the group has grievances against the detention center, the group doesn't want to give anyone a "get-out-of-jail-free card."
"We're not trying to free them," she said, "but they have a right to a fair trial and to be held with a charge."
Currently, Helms said, there are about 275 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, but during 2005, there were hundreds more.
Facts about Guantanamo Bay and its detainees were written on the cardboard signs that students outside the faux prison were holding. Some of the signs read "Only 10 detainees ever charged with crimes" and "$90 to 118 million is the annual cost of operating Guantanamo."
Helms said this is something a lot of students should care about.
"I think they're still fresh and have opinions," she said. "Our voices aren't heard enough."
Anna Alcaro (freshman-anthropology) was farther away from the faux prison and was trying to get students to sign a petition that would be sent to President George W. Bush and call for the end of torture at Guantanamo Bay. At the beginning of the rally, she said they already had about 10 pages filled with signatures from prior events.
Group member Tina Robinson (sophomore-environmental and renewable resource economics) said they collected 233 more signatures by the end of the rally.
Letters will also be sent to Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
"We'll send letters individually so there's more bombardment," she said.
Later, two students moved to the Allen Street gates to try to get more signatures for the petition. One of the students, Matt Hershberger (senior-journalism), held a small megaphone and said, "Help end torture and close Guantanamo Bay."
This article contains a misleading headline. Guantanamo Bay is an American prison located in Cuba.
