Traprock
Peace Center www.traprockpeace.org
Kent State Antiwar Coalition
New Conference on its Victory over Campus Repression of Protest
November 16, 2005
Photos © 2005 Eric Ruder; all rights reserved.
November 16, 2005, Kent State University, Ohio:
The Kent State Antiwar Committee (KSAWC) announced its victory
over campus repression at a news conference at Kent State. The university had
been taking David Airhart, a student and veteran of Guantanamo Bay and the Iraq
War, to a disciplinary hearing for his having unfurled a peace banner at the
top of a rock climbing wall erected on campus by military recruiters on October
29, 2005. At 5:30 PM on November 15th, Airhart learned from his lawyer that
the university was cancelling the hearing set for the 16th. (Charges will be
expunged from his record, according to the university, after a mediation meeting.)
Nicole Robinson of KSAWC, a chapter of the Campus Antiwar
Network, moderated the news conference. Giving prepared remarks were
students Amanda John, David Airhart, David Pittman, and Nicole Robinson. Questions
followed. Media covering the news conference included ITN television (UK), the
Cleveland Plain Dealer, NPR, through its local affiliate, and Channel 2 TV in
Kent. Other national and mass media, including network television, have called
for interviews or information.
After the news conference, students gathered for a brief outdoor
rally on this cold, blustery afternoon. Students read public statements of support
that had been provided by antiwar activists, veterans, professors, writer, students
and organizations. Further, over 950 people signed an online petition in support
of David Airhart, and hundreds of more signed petitions gathered by students
with the Campus Antiwar Network on camupses coast to coast. Speakers noted the
national call by the Campus Antiwar Network for counter-recruitment
actions on Devember 6th. All of the public statements of support, along
with the transcript of David Airhart's previous talk in Chicago on November
5, 2005, KSAWC's October 29th report, and several media reports are found at
http://www.traprockpeace.org/kent_state_students/
After the rally, Nicole Robinson led a tour of the memorials to
students slain by National Guard soldiers on May 4, 1970.
Hear the news conference in its entirety, uneditd in mp3
audio format. The audio may be replayed by radio stations and used
non-commercially with attribution to the Kent State Antiwar Coalition, a chapter
of the Campus Antiwar Network, for their having produced the news conference,
and to Traprock Peace Center for recording and publishing the audio. The audio
is © 2005 Traprock Peace Center, all rights reserved. Radio stations do
not need prior consent to reply the audio, but are required to simply notify
Traprock that it is replaying the radio, at charles[at]traprockpeace[dot]org.
Websites are asked to link to the radio rather than post it. If a website wishes
to mirror the audio on their site, please request authorization from Traprock
at charles[at]traprockpeace[dot]org. Photos are provided courtesy of Eric Ruder
and are © 2005 Eric Ruder; all rights reserved.
MP3
audio - 36:20 minutes; 64 kbps mono; 16.7 mb for radio airplay and broadband
connections.
MP3
audio - 36:20 minutes; 16 kbps mono; 16.7 mb for dial up connections.
See photos:
http://www.traprockpeace.org/kent_state_16nov05/
