The first amendment allows us to gather and protest against people, institutions or anything. Protests have seen changes occur in our country.

The rally that occurred on Monday and the subsequent storming of the Administration/Admissions Office has proved that while protesting is part of the democratic process, there is a limit and a need for professionalism when protesting such serious issues. Now, I do believe that there needs to be more communication between the administration and the students and more representation of students on issues dealing with the school. That being said, I cannot, and will not, stand in solidarity with the protestors because of their actions and the actions of organizations in support of them.

The administration offered to listen to the demands of the protesters in a meeting room at Schine, but members of the protest booed and heckled at the compromise. They decided the best action was to storm the office.

That was only minor compared to what various organizations have said in regards to this protest. On Monday evening, I engaged in a twitter conversation with KentGrams, an unrecognized and unofficial account from Syracuse University.  While trying to have a civilized and professional conversation, the people running the account called me an ableist and a neoliberalist. This clearly shows the lack of maturity of some, if not many, of the protestors in this rally.  It not only comes from outside organizations, but from the organization in charge of the rally. THE General Body posted memes of the chancellor ridiculing him. This will not help your cause, only hurt it.

Throughout Tuesday, many of the protesters who have been at the office have gone on and mocked the school and chancellor. Personal attacks are childish and are not productive to your cause.  Many have gone on and mocked The Daily Orange, calling it supportive of the school’s policy of racism, homophobia and neoliberalism. So I guess showing both sides of a situation is wrong.

The protesters must realize that the school has been holding meetings open to the community to allow for a discussion, but no one shows up. If you want your voice heard, go to the meetings and be productive. Don’t think you can do it your way; you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Ben Castaneda
Broadcast and digital journalism major
Class of 2017