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.
