S29: Protest at Ohio State Campus
From: Barry L. Shank shank.46@osu.edu
In contrast to the stories of the two marches in LA, and in recognition that life in the vast middle of the country is different, I offer the following.
On Saturday, approximately 183 people, mostly but not totally
white, marched from the Ohio State campus down High Street to Goodale Park.
The march was peaceful. We shouted and chanted, carrying signs as we walked
the almost two mile path. We did not walk on the street, but stayed on the
sidewalk the entire way. Police accompanied the march,
blocking intersections so that the marchers would not have to stop for lights.
The march went through the "Short North", a part of town that in
the past ten years has gone from a very low income neighborhood to the trendy
arty part of town. Along the way, many people came out of the antique stores
and art galleries and tattoo parlors to watch us pass. Most looked bemused.
A few chanted and sang along, but did not join the march. A few jeered, honked
horns and flipped us off. One young man walked the entire route on the opposite
side of the street, carrying hand-written pro-war signs. The feeling during
the march was calm and determined, with an air of wit among some of the younger
activists. At the end, in the park, we looked like a small group. It felt
like not much had really happened, but that a small victory had been won,
nonetheless.
The Sunday Dispatch carried no news of the march that I could find. Inside, on the editorial page, a letter was published that chastised the paper for giving any space at all to anti-war activism. Perhaps the letter writer had been heeded.
Sunday night another meeting was held that I could not attend, but new events are planned.
Perhaps other small victories are being won?
Yours,
Barry Shank