The presidential debate hosted by Washington University last week certainly was the spectacle that most expected. But not all of the action occurred within the athletic complex. A field of police in full riot gear, sheriff deputies and secret service agents stood among spectators and protesters off campus.
One protest was organized under the name of O17, representing the date of the debate, Oct. 17. Local organizers combined with organizers from out of state who gathered at both the Boston and North Carolina debates under the same message to educate the American people about the claim that the current electoral process is controlled by corporate interests.
“It is that issues aren’t being addressed because they [the debates] are corporately controlled,” said Eric Sears, Saint Louis University student and protest participant. “The real issues were left on the street. We were creating a forum where real issues could be debated.”
An estimated 2,500 attendees held a variety of banners and signs, many of which called for an end to Israeli violence against Palestinians in the Middle East. Others echoed the main concern of the event by proclaiming, “Our votes can’t be bought” and “We the people are the power.”
In a powerful and moving speech, Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader energized the crowd by mentioning a number of examples where corporate control effects all of our lives.
SLU student Katie Schluge said she felt that Nader’s main point was “to point out the combination of corporations, government and American politics, and how that plays into a lack of health care, the way our children are brought up, and racial issues.” Schluge believed that the speech encouraged her “to vote for him as a candidate and not to worry about throwing a vote away.” Both Schluge and Sears felt that if Nader had been allowed to debate it would have changed the landscape of the campaigns.
Other speakers included Joan Bray, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, professors from UMSL and American University, and organizers from causes such as campaigns against sweatshops, campaigns to end police brutality, as well as religious groups.
However, the excitement continued even after the debate ended. After a procession down Wydown Street, an estimated 70 to 100 protesters headed for a parking lot owned by the Grace United Methodist Church. The church had allowed protesters to park their vehicles and congregate there prior to the rally.
Three persons, in an act of civil disobedience, stood in traffic on Skinker with the intent of being arrested. According to Bill Ramsey of the Human Rights Action Service, their arrests occurred without incident.
St. Louis Police Department officers then turned on the crowd. With riot shields lined side by side, police officers began pushing the crowd away from the street.
A majority of the group was quickly pinned between the police and a stone wall on the corner of the street and on the property of the Church parking lot.
Police roughly picked two members of the crowd and arrested them face down on the grass, using billy clubs in the process. Ten to 15 others were attacked with pepperspray at point blank range. Jason Starko, a 24-year-old from Granite City, said, “They just started shooting into the crowd after they had pinned us on our side of the sidewalk.”
The standoff ended when Reverend Mark Harvey, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, encouraged the group to disperse. According to those organizing the defense of the detained, the charges will most likely be dropped. Ramsey said, “These are not the type of charges that police show up in court for.” He said that all evidence will be passed on to the American Civil Liberties Union, who will decide if there should be charges brought against the St. Louis Police Department.
