Undergraduate and graduate students, along with faculty and staff, will take part in a journey for justice: Another call to close the School of the Americas.

John Slosar, School of Social Service professor, and Harry O’Rourke of Campus Ministry will lead 22 members of the Saint Louis University community to Washington, D. C.

The group will leave on Friday, March 30, and return on Tuesday, April 3, to protest the SOA.

This is the follow-up trip to the journey to Georgia last November when protesters asked for an end to the “School of the Assassins.” Graduates from the SOA are accused of being responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent victims in Latin America, said O’Rourke.

“This is not a one-time event, but something that continues in Latin America,” O’Rourke said.

There will be a national vigil outside of the Capitol, the Pentagon and the White House. Trip-goers will travel by van and stay in hotels.

People from all over the world will put pressure on Congress to address this issue, according to O’Rourke.

The University is not organizing the lobbying, just the vigil. Many SLU people will be lobbying, but not through the University.

“It was important for us to keep that separate,” he said. “The past few years, we [SLU] have been the most represented group, by far,” he continued.

The reason the SLU family has been so involved in the crusade against the SOA is threefold.

First, the University has a personal connection to the school. Graduates of the school killed six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter in El Salvador about 11 years ago.

One of the priests was a graduate of SLU, and another studied at the University.

“They were killed for doing what we taught them, living out the mission statement of this University,” O’Rourke said. “It puts a moral obligation on us.”

The second reason members of SLU are adamant about closing the school is the education about it around the campus.

“We put a lot of effort into teaching our students about the destruction the SOA is responsible for,” he said.

“Once people know, they realize how ridiculous the entire situation is,” he said.

The third reason is that University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., has made an institutional commitment, according O’Rourke.

In the fall, SLU members went to the protest for $25. This was only possible because Biondi subsidized the cost of the trip. “He wanted everyone who was interested to have the option to go, regardless of cost,” he said.

Last year, Congress passed a bill that briefly closed the School of the Americas.

However, the school reopened under another name.

O’Rourke said that legislation is important because national officials are feeling the pressure.

“This is so Washington doesn’t think they can ignore the situation,” he said. “We need to strike while the iron is hot.”