I read with some disappointment that GW would close its doors to protesters arriving in Washington for the A-16 demonstrations this coming weekend. While I understand the desire to maintain order, order is rarely maintained by imposing draconian rules to limit people’s freedom. Would GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg prefer that protesters sleep in their friends’ rooms or on the street outside? Surely they are less likely to cause damage if they are taken in.
GW would do well to consider the example of my school, Yale, of 1969. When New Haven was effectively shut down during protests against a Black Panther murder trial, President Kingman Brewster opened campus to demonstrators. Despite harsh personal attacks from Vice President Spiro Agnew, Brewster stood firm in his belief that students should demonstrate and that moral leaders should protest unfair trials.
I urge Trachtenberg to reverse his stance and allow out-of-town visitors to stay in GW residence halls this weekend.-Jacob Remes
Yale University, class of 2002
