Carolinian

Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: JERRY ARNOLD/THE CAROLINIAN Late Thursday afternoon, the local drum corps Cakalak Thunder warmed-up at the Atrium Fountain before joining other UNCG students who marched downtown to participate in the nationally organized "Drive Out the Bush Regime" protest.

Media Credit: JERRY ARNOLD/THE CAROLINIAN Another 'Bush Crime' depicted throughout the day was the death of rights of the individual, shown through 'Roe v. Wade' painted on a coffin. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: JERRY ARNOLD/THE CAROLINIAN Flags of all types were carried during the protest, including the symbol for 'Drive Out the Bush Regime,' the Iraqi flag, and this modified American flag. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: LOGAN YORK/THE CAROLINIAN UNCG protestors met up with other activists from across the state on the corner of Eugene and Market streets downtown at 6:30 p.m. [Click to enlarge]

It's nearly 2 p.m. on Thursday. Students flooding out of the new humanities building are confronted with an unusual scene. Two bodies lay on the ground, one dressed in an orange jumpsuit that reads "GITMO" across the back. Both of their faces are covered in black cloth.

A foot or two away, a young man in a white shirt and tie is yelling at them, pacing and pouring a bottle of water over the still, silent bodies. He stops the harassment only to chase a cell phone-bearing student down the steps, shouting, "I have the right to know what you're saying."

The gathered crowd stands back, watching - some in obvious confusion. They were viewing an example of "Bush Crimes," skits organized by the protest group Drive Out the Bush Regime and followed by a nationally-organized march downtown.

"The staged Bush crimes in and of themselves were effective because they were so matter of fact," said campus organizer Lauren Guy McAlpin. "We weren't running up to people and screaming our ideals into their faces … We just had an eye-catching prop or performance along side display boards with facts about the issue, and let the facts speak for themselves. I think this method helped us reach more students."

The march itself began with students meeting at the Atrium fountain around 5 p.m. After gathering a crowd of approximately 50 people, including the Cakalak Thunder drum corps, they began the trek down Market Street to the intersection with Eugene, where the formal protest began around 6:30 p.m. Police closed off portions of Elm, Greene and McGee streets, as well.

"When we met in front of the fountain to march downtown and join the mass protest, there was an amazing amount of diversity," McAlpin remarked. "People who didn't look like they usually came out to that kind of stuff were there in full force."

The downtown group totaled approximately 150 protestors carrying signs and chanting, but was part of a national movement occurring in over 200 places nationwide, according to the organization's website.

Other "Bush Crimes" appearing at UNCG throughout the day included stationed coffins reading "Roe vs. Wade" and "Science," as well as a skit on wiretapping and another regarding the alleged Haditha murders.

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