Before yesterday, I had never been involved in a protest so large. Before yesterday, I’m ashamed to admit that I was one of those people who doubted such protests could be completely peaceful when police were forced to get involved. Before yesterday, I had at least a semblance of confidence that my university was on my side. But yesterday changed everything.
I began the evening as a journalist and ended the night as a self-proclaimed activist. From my perspective, it was a peaceful protest against the rhetoric of a white supremacist. We were not protesting his freedom of speech; we acknowledge that he has the right to be such a hateful man. But as citizens of this country and students at this university, we too have the freedom of speech and right to assemble peacefully. Which we did.
At the beginning of the night I passed by a truly silent protest in Rudder Plaza. Students and College Station community members alike held signs to show their stance. Many took a firm stand against racism and white supremacy with signs that placed their identity opposed to his. Others assured the world that Aggies don’t support racism.
A few steps away from the Plaza, I encountered a much louder and jubilant protest. In front of Rudder Tower, led by men and women holding microphones, people sang chants to express their views. Chants included “Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Richard Spencer has to go!” and “No Spencer, No Nazis, No Fascist KKK,” along with many others. This crowd was much larger and definitely more incensed with the thought of Spencer’s rhetoric. Despite their anger, everyone remained peaceful and respectful of one another. There were even moments of music and dance.
I walked a little further to where a line had formed for entrance into Spencer’s event. It was a public event–first come first serve–so many people had been in line for well over an hour before the event. Both protesters and supporters were in line together, once again peacefully interacting. In some instances, I witnessed people exchanging points of view, and yes, tempers were rising, but fights did not break out. At about 7:15 p.m., they stopped letting people enter, claiming the room was full. At this point, the crowd from Rudder Tower had moved to stand by the line, hoping their voices could be heard in the upstairs room where Spencer was beginning to speak.
I moved with the group inside of the Memorial Student Center to the staircase leading up to the event. We gathered in this area and once again began singing many of the chants we had outside. A man holding a large boom box came in and once again we began singing. He also played moments from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech, and during those moments many in the area became silent to listen to his powerful words. Again there were some arguments between protestors and supporters, but nothing I saw got out of hand. Then, out of nowhere, police and state troopers dressed head-to-toe in riot gear, came walking down the stairs. They stayed there for a few minutes, until more of their team could arrive. And then it began.
As one unit, the police formed a barrier around us and began pushing and shoving, while yelling “Move them back!” They pulled people off of chairs, which they were standing on to get a better view of what was happening. They would not listen to our cries as we told them there was nowhere to go. It was too crowded to move. I ended up at the back, with a trooper behind me. He held his baton harshly against my back as he shoved my friend and me forward into the persons in front of us. The force in which they handled us was entirely unnecessary. In fact, some troopers even told their fellow officers to “lay off” some of us; they too could see it was too much. I made it outside after some fellow students guarded us from the troopers, even arguing with them about our safety.
For the next hour they continued to push us back, farther and farther away from a building we have every right to enter as students of this university. We chanted again to tell them that the whole world was watching and that this is what democracy looks like. We screamed as they forced their way through our crowds with their horses, coming close to trampling a few people. No one could understand why they were acting so harshly. Didn’t our University president claim we had the right to protest? Wasn’t this our campus, which we pay for with our tuition? Why was Spencer’s freedom of speech protected but ours was not?
My view on the world and on my University was changed last night. I saw first hand how a peaceful protest was transformed into a terrifying ordeal by the forceful actions taken by a University and members of a police force. I saw how people tried to cover up what really happened.
Yesterday opened my eyes more to the world I live in. I am now more determined than ever to fight for justice. I am now more determined than ever to stand up against people like Richard Spencer. I can no longer sit back and just write about my grievances; I must take a stand. Yesterday was the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and I bet many others at my university are feeling the same way. We must stand together, united to speak against the injustices we face in our changing country. When our rights are under attack, we must stand up and fight back.
Photos are courtesy of Hanna Kristine Photography,The Battalion, The Houston Chronicle, and KERA.