MOVEMENT ANTICIPATES SECOND DAY OF ARRESTS
Three members of The September 29th Movement who were arrested yesterday
in Iowa State University (ISU) President Martin Jischke's office say they'll
be back to face arrest again. The three students, Meron Wondwosen,
Allan Nosworthy, and Milton McGriff, say they will return to the president's
office today at 4:00 p.m. to again request a meeting with the
president. If he does not provide a date for that meeting, they
will remain in his office until it closes, when they will again be subject
to arrest for trespassing. Members of the press are invited to witness
the arrests, which are expected to begin at 5:00 p.m.
"A couple of weeks ago, three white GSB senators told President Jischke they wanted to meet with him to discuss Catt Hall, and they met with the president that week," said LGBTAA President Jason Rivera. "The September 29th Movement has made the same request for close to a year, and President Jischke has made every possible excuse to avoid a meeting. Today three black students will be arrested again for trying to meet with the president of this university. What does this say about the university's commitment to diversity?"
Monday's arrests came after a meeting with Vice President Tom Hill, during which Movement members expected to receive a date for a meeting with President Jischke. However, no date was produced, and Vice President Hill could not provide any guarantee that a meeting would happen at all. According to Movement members, this contradicts assurances that came out of a meeting between the administration and various civil rights groups on March 12, 1998. At that meeting, President Jischke said he meet with the Movement if it provided a more detailed agenda and if it agreed to meet with Vice President Hill first. Because Hill cannot discuss Catt Hall, this offer also implied a delay in the discussion of the Movement's most visible issue. In a letter dated March 31, the Movement agreed to the administration's conditions, but requested that Hill have a date for a meeting with Jischke when they met with him on April 6. On April 3, Hill replied that he would not produce a date and that President Jischke would have to determine whether further meetings would happen at all. "The administration made three requests of us, and despite our reservations, we met all of them," said Movement member Milton McGriff. "We made one request of them, and they denied it. In fact, instead of coming through on their commitment with a date, they backed away from honoring their side of the agreement at all. This is exactly the attitude toward non-majority issues the Movement was formed to protest."
The September 29th Movement and concerned supporters will again gather
in the president's office at 4:00 p.m. today to request a date for a meeting.
If no date is provided, members of the Movement will face a second arrest.
The September 29th Movement has been fighting to eliminate racism, xenophobia,
sexism, homophobia, and classism at Iowa State University for over two
and a half years.