GJP Career Fair protest cancelled

A protest of the Raytheon table at last week's Career Fair, planned by members of the Global Justice Project (GJP) was cancelled shortly before it was scheduled to start by the Office of the Dean for Student Development.

A media advisory distributed by the GJP described the protest as "an elaborate theatrical event to demonstrate the fundamental differences between Raytheon's products and the mission of the Catholic-Jesuit University." Dean for Student Development Robert Sherwood said that there was a discrepancy between the information in the media advisory and the description of the protest that appeared on the demonstration registration form signed by him and GJP members Reena Parikh, A&S '06, and Nick Salter, A&S '07.

"The protest was cancelled because, in my opinion, the agreement we had with [GJP] was violated when they sent out a media alert describing an elaborate theatrical event being held," said Sherwood. "We never would have approved an elaborate theatrical event where the Career Fair is going on."

Members of the GJP insisted that their intent was not to deceive the University. "We didn't specify [about the theatrical performance] because we wanted Raytheon to be surprised by our message," said Salter. "Our intent was to always abide by the permit."

"We didn't see it as deceitful," said Parikh. "We framed [the protest] differently in the press release so that media would come."

Raytheon is the world's fifth-largest defense contractor. It develops and manufactures defense and government electronics, weapons, and business and special mission aircraft.

The demonstration registration form outlined two locations where GJP members would demonstrate. The first included a table to be provided by the Career Center, with 15 students stationed behind the table and in a six-foot radius in front of it. The form said there would be a visual display, as well as students passing out literature. The second location was directly across from Raytheon's table, where two students would be silently kneeling. The form said that the intent was not to physically obstruct or impede access to Raytheon's table.

Parikh said that protest organizers received a call from Sherwood at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, 15 minutes before the protest was scheduled to begin. Sherwood said that as soon as he was made aware of the media advisory, he called Salter on his cell phone. "When we discovered that they had invited the media, we came to the conclusion that this was beyond what we had approved as a demonstration," said Sherwood.

At last year's Career Fair, 12 students staged a protest of Raytheon's table, kneeling in prayer and holding placards displaying Jesuit teachings. No application was processed to approve the protest, and it was almost immediately broken up by the Boston College Police Department and officials from ODSD. Two of the protesters, former student Nick Fuller-Googins and Joe Previtera, BC '05, received disciplinary action from the University.

"After the protest last year we decided to ask for the permit," said Salter. "We were happy to dialogue with the administration." Parikh said that she informed Sherwood during the first week of the semester that a Raytheon protest was in the works. "We felt we were being gracious to let them know what to prepare for ahead of time," she said.

Negotiations between the GJP, Sherwood, BCPD Chief Robert Morse, and Teresa Harrigan, director of the Career Center, took place throughout the month. One final meeting took place last Tuesday, and Salter said that the discussion focused mainly on space and logistics.

Sherwood said that he felt that the protest's organizers did not negotiate in good faith. "This is a matter of trust and honesty and faith," he said. "I told them from the very beginning that we were reluctant to let them inside the building at all. My feeling was that they weren't being straight and truthful with us, so there was no reason for us to let them inside the building."

Sherwood said that some of the same students he dealt with regarding this protest were involved with last year's Rally for Equality, which was also initially cancelled.

"That permit was revoked when I got calls from other schools informing me that members of their student bodies were coming to BC to protest," he said. "The organizers of that demonstration came in to apologize and disinvited the students from other schools, and we were able to negotiate a new permit. I'm surprised these same people didn't learn from those mistakes last year."

Salter said that the GJP originally wanted to get students to think critically about the role of a company like Raytheon, which supplies parts for nuclear weapons and Tomahawk missiles, on a Jesuit campus.

That focus has been diverted, he said. "We don't want to be talking about censorship," he said. "Now it's a top priority. We're forced down this path.

"What concerned me was that Dean Sherwood said he needs to limit the number of protests this year," Salter continued. "He won't be approving protests from me or Reena [Parikh] the entire year. I'm concerned about the role of protests at the University. I'm concerned about the repercussions of censorship, and about their [the University's] oppression against student activism."

Sherwood said that the GJP has many goals that he respects, but that he does not agree with the group's methods. "Frankly, I would like to see fewer demonstrations and more dialogues between groups with differing opinions," he said.

"It's not always about dialogue between the political right and left," said James Walsh, a GJP member and A&S '08. "It's not all about service. It's about activism."

"This makes things much more difficult," said Salter. "Students aren't going to stop protesting. They [the University] raised the stakes, escalated the situation, and set a dangerous precedent."