A student, faculty, and staff strike in opposition to the war in Iraq turned into a protest march that led to the shutdown of the East Campus entrance to UCSB.
Student protesters gathered at the bicycle entrance to UCSB in Isla Vista around 1pm this afternoon. The crowd began to grow as planned speakers spoke against the Iraqi war. After the speakers concluded, the crowd, which had grown to over 1000, began to march from the west side of campus to the HWY 217 entrance, eventually making their way onto the freeway before being stopped by police just before the Goleta Beach off-ramp. Two protesters were arrested and later released. After a standoff with police that lasted over an hour, the protesters marched to Cheadle Hall and continued to protest until dispersing around 5pm.
Click below to listen to KCSB News coverage of todays events. Aaron Jones will have a follow up on what occurred on campus tomorrow at 1pm on his show On The Real.
Right on! A friend sent me the audio description of the recent student/faculty/staff action re. the Iraq (better called American) War. I was riveted. I do fret about the young man who demonstrated while wearing his uniform though. He might be in doo doo. Students here in Olympia WA at Evergreen State College have been pretty active in opposing the war but so far have not shut down the streets or college. You guys rock!
Awesome…get that message out there. This so called war is out of hand. We are losing our citizens right and left, in addition to losing money like rain water that is suppose to help our society here in the US. When will the madness stop? Peace!
Thank you for covering the student protest about the “war” in Iraq! I am happy to see the younger generation becoming aware and involved. This is an extremely important thing for them to BE aware and involved in!