Protesting is an age-long way for citizens to let their beliefs be known. WSU allows anyone on their campus to protest-- within certain lines; luckily, it is a simple process to figure out.
Why do people protest?
There are many reasons as to why people can protest. When you are a small fish in a big pond, it may be hard to make your voice heard. So protesting can be a good way to let your voice be heard.
Some of our country's biggest movements have started through protest, such as Gay Pride and Civil Rights.
It is the oldest and most effective way to make a group's voice be heard. What is good about protests is it does not have to be for a large cause. For every freedom March in DC for Black Equality, there is a protest to ban Disco music. You can protest anything peacefully.
While there are many different ways that people protest, the most common way is to march. However, that is not always the simplest way, so some might also boycott, which is the act of refusing to buy or participate in something in protest. Many call it protesting with their wallets, and people who participate in these boycotts find that they end up being somewhat beneficial.
“I'm boycotting companies that gave money to the Trump campaign. It hasn't been easy, I've had to adjust where I shop and eat and that can be difficult because a lot of companies ended up giving money to Trump's campaign.” Springfield resident Carla Prescott said. “Places like Walmart become inaccessible. But through this, I have found that I've been able to support more local grocers and small businesses through doing this, which I feel like helps the local economy.”
There are also more extreme ways of protesting. According to 9News, in 2008, a German man protested the higher gas prices by lighting his BMW on fire while at the gas station.
"The Bavarian man, whose name was being withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle," the article reads.
Also, the company People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is well known for their often violent protests. This has been hotly debated as, especially in the case of PETA, these have been considered the wrong way to protest due to their extreme nature.
Other forms of protest use digital spaces, like websites and social media.
“I remember getting on a random flash game website as a child, and their was a game where Pikachu was locked up, and they went to the butcher at one point. I was only about 10 years old so I was really freaked out and I ended up calling my mom over to the computer and somehow I got grounded for it," Christina Remmy said, a college student from the area.
The game in question that Remmy was talking about is a game protesting Pokémon, calling Nintendo to stop making Pokémon games. It is still available on their website.
Protesting at WSU
While you are not allowed to set cars on fire or send Pokémon to the Butcher shop, there is actually very little that is stopping an individual from protesting on campus at WSU. WSU is a public college, which means that, under the First Amendment of the United States constitution, students and faculty are protected to their rights of assembly and protest.
This is different at private schools, because they are considered a private entity, therefore, they can make their own rules. The University just has a few rules as far as protests go.
According to Policy 1260.1 in the student conduct page, “Although all students and all faculty are free to state their own views about and contest the views expressed on campus, and to state their own views about and contest speakers who are invited to express their views on the campus of a state institution of higher education, they may not substantially obstruct or otherwise substantially interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe. To this end, a state institution of higher education has a responsibility to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation and protect that freedom."
This means that while students are allowed to freely express their views and political opinions, students must remain peaceful and not disrupt anyone. This can be seen as a controversial take for the school, as some students feel like this policy is wrong, since some groups on campus have been threatening in the past and they have not been taken seriously by police.
“The Quad Gods from the abortion clinic are really scary,” English major Victoria Powell said, “They like to yell at people passing by and tell them they are going to hell and try to show you pictures of dead babies. It’s really scary, I’ll see cops standing there and they aren’t doing anything. They will get inches from our face and they just won't do anything.”
Protests are considered “not free speech” and not peaceful once it starts containing “fighting words," like threats or harassment. The “Quad Gods” do not fall under this, however, because they do not outright threaten people.
There are other rules involved in the process that can be found on the policy page. Anyone is allowed to protest on WSU's campus as long as they follow what is on that policy page and they submit the march and demonstration form to the appropriate parties within more than a 24 hour period.
Looking for Rowdy? Here is your clue for today:
Why did we find shredded aprons on the first floor of Rike Hall? Whose aprons could they have been?
