BERKELEY: “Campus police arrested 79 pro-Palestinian protesters who stormed into a classroom building Tuesday during an afternoon of student vigils and rallies,” The Sacramento Bee reports (sorry, ‘ts new to me).
Assistant Chancellor John Cummins said the arrested student protesters could face a semester of suspension, and that all the protesters — including about 20 non-students — could be prosecuted for trespassing.
He said police at the University of California, Berkeley, started arresting protesters around 2:45 p.m. after a noon rally turned into a march and nearly 500 people tried to enter Wheeler Hall.
Police blocked entrances to the building and asked the roughly 200 people inside to leave. Some students hung a Palestinian flag from a third-story window, while others marched and chanted in the hallways of the building, which houses classrooms for Middle Eastern studies.
Christ. The things some kids’ll do to get out of taking a Freshman Biology exam, huh?
I sure do hope these angst pirates were dressed appropriately. I mean, the fashions that accompany “Student Radical Chic” have a storied history — a homemade quality, a fringe-y flair, a certain sweat-soaked earthiness… One simply does not storm a campus building in Dockers and a Bass button-down oxford, after all.
For those of you interested in playing dress-up properly (and I’m sure some of you anti-warbloggers are still haunting this site and would appreciate some historical perspective), what follows is a list of films I think might help you really nail down the “semiotics of the protest rally” — from sartorial tips to lessons in lingo.
Go on, kiddies. Make yourself into an authentic cultural “text.” It’ll be groovy:
The Strawberry Statement (Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, 1970)
R.P.M (Anthony Quinn, Ann-Margret, 1970)
Zabriskie Point (Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, 1970)
Getting Straight (Elliot Gould, Candice Bergen, Harrison Ford, 1970)
Adam at 6 A.M. (Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, Jo Don Baker, 1970)
Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin, Delores Taylor, Howard Hesseman, 1971)
Joe (Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon, 1970)
The Paper Chase (Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman, 1973)
[Related: Ronald Radosh, “The Real Agenda of the New Student Left“; Collin Levey, “Anti-Semitism Goes PC“]
*Anybody remember any other campus protest flicks? Post ’em under “comments.”
Not a “campus” protest flick, but it does catch the flavor and motivation of the genre’, try <a href=”http://us.imdb.com/Title?0067927″ target=”_blank”>Vanishing Point</a>. A touching movie from 1971.
Yeah. Good flick, Don. I’d categorize it with <i>Two Lane Blacktop</i> and <i>Easy Rider</i>, though—a road picture.
Which reminds me: <i> Thumb Tripping</i>, with Bruce Dern. That might work.
You forgot Jack Nicholson’s initial attempt at directing “Drive, He Said”. Jeez, how arty-farty is that title? The movie sucked, sucked big time. Typical un-watchable 70’s film. All about campus radicals.
Oh, god, Jeff–The Strawberry Statement…. I read that in high school and was absolutely dumbfounded when the cops dragged the kids out of the building. I was so naive, I didn’t think cops would–or should–do that.
There were many books written about Kent State as well–which was a student protest gone horribly wrong, thanks to the National Guard being called in. That should never have happened.
You know what I find interesting in all of this anti-Israel student protest?
Where’s the violence on the pro-Israeli side?
Oh, that’s right–there is none.
Interesting.
Hell, for that matter, where are the pro-Israel protests?
Oh, <a href=”http://wishwatch.blogspot.com/?/2002_04_07_wishwatch_archive.html”>they happen</a>. But since there’s no violence, the media gives them no coverage.