Williams the scene of antiwar protest the day after war started

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
Nearly 400 students, faculty and area residents turned out for an antiwar demonstration at Williams College Thursday, the day after President George W. Bush unleashed bombs over Baghdad, to applaud speakers opposing the war. Many demonstrators carried placards proclaiming “Not in My Name,” and other anti-war sentiments, although a couple wore signs supporting the war. “We are here to raise our voices against the loss of life,” said Williams senior Diane Reis. “We will not be silent.” “I believe we are supporting the troops by asking Washington to send them home,” said Reis. “The violence unleashed in Iraq by our government” does not equate to global leadership, she said. “Real global leadership does not involve bombs and invasions.” Reis urged that instead of spending $100 billion to destroy Iraq the U.S. government should spend it to combat poverty and underdevelopment. Reis suggested the money should be spent, instead, to combat AIDS, or to build schools and hospitals. Brigitte Teissedre of the Williams College Anti-War Community Task Force (ACT) said that the lack of awareness of the Bush administration of the protest “does not decrease the value of our protest.” Teissedre said simultaneous protests were being held at colleges nationwide, and that unity can turn “feelings of helplessness and frustration into strength.” Thursday’s demonstration on Chapin Hall steps was also sponsored by the Williamstown-based North Berkshire Peace Group. Black-clad demonstrators wore signs designating them as casualties of war, such as “Dead Iraqi soldier, 16 years old,” and “U.S. Army Reserve, deceased.” Many in attendance signed a large poster that proclaimed, “This war is waged for hidden motives with inadequate cause and in defiance of justice, reason and morality. We who here sign our names will not permit it to pass in silence.” There was music as well as speech. A vocal ensemble called Singing School sang an early American song titled “David’s Lamentation,” in which the Biblical king mourns his son Absolom, slain in battle. Also, drummers drummed energetically, and one student, accompanying himself on guitar, sang a song with the stirring refrain, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” Criticism centered on the harm to Iraqi civilians, the incendiary effects likely in the Arab world, and the damage done to U.S. international relations. Speakers also criticized the Bush administration’s rationale for war as misguided or inadequate. Antiwar activist Gordon Harris charged that the peaceful dismantling of Iraq’s weaponry was not Bush’s objective. “It is not just the people of Iraq that the Bush administration attacks today,” said Harris. “Our nation has been taken over by the same people who drafted a new national security strategy that spells out a strategy for unchallenged U.S. global military domination, unchallenged by any nation or institution, including the United Nations.” And, he said, “we too are in danger” as the administration seeks to instill fear in the American people. “And, since we are afraid, we have begun to give up our own most basic rights, starting with the rights of people in our country who don't quite look like us,” said Harris. Harris called on listeners to “increase our resistance exponentially, for the greatest danger to world peace is, strange to say, not the likes of Saddam Hussein, but this un-elected president and his corporate partners in the White House.” Harris charged that the American media are the administration’s cheerleader. And he criticized the U.S. Senate which, he said, spent the day yesterday debating whether to give the wealthiest people in this country $700 billion or $350 billion in tax cuts. As our senator Ted Kennedy stated, ‘It’s wrong for Congress to act as if it’s business as usual.’ He’s right. It’s time for us to take back our country!” And Ed Epping, a professor of studio art at Williams, warned against easy dichotomies - right or wrong, for or against. “We are experiencing fear. This is the kind of visceral fear that invades our principles and can strip us of our connections to those who share our fear.” Said Epping, “my complaint has been and will be with an administration whose policies have led to this moment. I am not against those who have had their lives placed in harm’s way because of the enforcement of those policies.” “[I] remain unwilling to substitute rage for reason,” said Epping. “Violence, no matter the scale and no matter the perpetrator, indicates a weakness of purpose and not an act of strength.” Epping urged listeners to “Become involved.” “I will trust intellectual dialogue and diplomacy over any...military ordnance in the procurement of lasting change,” he said. “Each of us has the responsibility to listen to one another with respect,” he said. Cheers greeted his conclusion, “This war is not an answer.” Williams junior Jacob Eisler said he is lucky that his brother just completed his tour in Afghanistan with the Air Force reserves, but that others will not be so lucky. The war’s preemptive nature, he said, was pushed by special interests that have been planning war for the past decade. Freshman Vicky Hernandez said the Bush administration is ignoring national and international opinion. One man, in an updated and more decorous version of the chant that rang through so many protests against the Vietnam War, led the group as follows: “One, two, three, four, We don’t want preemptive war.” Aamir Wyne, a Williams senior, said he is a Muslim and an American, and that this war is “tearing me apart.” “The people of Iraq suffer because they have no power. They can’t vote. They don’t have a future. We do have that power here,” said Wyne, noting that the group could freely rally to protest government policy. “We’re the freest people in the world.” “I want empowerment in the Arab world,” he said. “I don’t think war is the answer. That’s why I don’t support war.” And Wyne urged listeners to not just search for righteousness, “but for what is right, and to do what is right.” But Williams junior Keith Ericson, carried a banner inscribed, “Pro-war, pro-freedom,” as he stood on Chapin steps. And another, sophomore Hale Simon, carried a sign proclaiming, “Some things are worth fighting for.” Also at Williams Thursday, an interfaith Service of Lamentation and Longing was held in Thompson Memorial Chapel.
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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course. 
 
The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication. 
 
"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."
 
LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates. 
 
"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.
 
The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.
 
"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back. 
 
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