A mob of Seattle Central Community College students chased military recruiters off campus last month, after a tense confrontation. Now a student anti-war group is stepping up efforts to keep them out for good. Students Against War has launched a petition drive aimed at persuading administrators to order a halt to on-campus military recruiting. The group points to a November ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Philadelphia-based court held that a college opposed to the policy barring gays and lesbians in the armed forces has a First Amendment right to protest by blocking access to military recruiters. Central students opposed to the war in Iraq have been fighting the presence of military recruiters all year. The group organized a protest to coincide with President Bush's inauguration Jan. 20, but it started sooner than scheduled when several hundred students surrounded two Army recruiters. The students hurled insults and water bottles, according to witnesses, forcing the recruiters to flee under the protection of campus security officers. There were no reports of injuries. Administrators initially threatened to take disciplinary action against Students Against War, which denied any responsibility for the incident. Yesterday, however, officials backed off their demand that the group apologize to the recruiters or be stripped of their affiliation with the college. Central President Mildred Ollee said she dropped the ultimatum after discovering that members of other student groups were involved in the confrontation. "I'm not prepared to go on a witch hunt," she said. "We did the best we could do in this, and I believe the students have learned something and we're going to move forward."
| Yeah. They learned they can do as they damned well please and you'll roll over and ask for more. |