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Hamilton Community gathers to Speak Out and Speak Up

By Noelle Connors ’19

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On Friday, Feb. 17, students, professors and community members gathered in the Chapel for the “Speak Out and Speak Up Event.” In conjunction with the “National Strike 4 Democracy,” this event provided a forum for members of the Hamilton community and the local area to share their opinions, fears and responses to President Donald Trump’s first month in office. From 12-2 p.m. and 4-5 p.m., students, professors and community members shared their thoughts about these issues and motivated others in the audience to get involved. For the rest of the afternoon, there was an open mic session during which everyone was invited to share their current opinions.

    One of the goals of this National Strike movement is to make it possible to have marches and protests. Today, many Americans are not used to the idea of having a strike, or marching in protests, although these have been instrumental ways to cause change throughout history. Celeste Day Moore, assistant professor of history, summarized activist and historian W.E.B Du Bois’s argument that the Civil War was a strike of half a million people to free themselves from slavery. Strikes are at the core of our identity as Americans, and yet we often do not acknowledge them as part of our history. The Women’s March on Washington was an example of a well-planned and well-attended movement to fight for rights, but the “National Strike 4 Democracy” movement requires that we be willing to do this again. The movement believes that in order to secure our basic human rights, we must be ready to strike again.

    At the 4 p.m. session, Tim Hartel ’18 began the event with a speech about the countless fears he faces every day living in Trump’s America and the ambiguity about what he is able to do. In brainstorming titles for his speech, he considered “On Being Privileged but Not Able to Do Anything--A Liberal Arts Story,” “On Walls and Making Illegals Out of Undocumented,” “On Never Knowing the Truth,” “On Trans Rights A Thing From the Past” among many other titles which capture the challenges that many students at Hamilton face.

Yvonne Zylan, associate professor of sociology and lawyer, led an engaging conversation about the legal possibilities for Trump’s claims, and the legal options for resisting. She emphasized that voting rights should be our priority because Trump was elected as a result of people in many states being restricted from voting or fearful of voting regulations. Secondly, she pointed out the importance of maintaining our rights to protest. Many states have already restricted protesting rights, and these state-by-state regulations could spread to impede our freedom of speech. Professor Zylon reassured students that we do have options to protest, but we need to take advantage of these and be willing to fight for our beliefs.

Katheryn Doran, associate professor of philosophy and vice president of the local Planned Parenthood affiliate, encouraged students to choose one issue they are passionate about and keep fighting for it. She described many ways students can make a difference, such as calling their legislators, showing up to protests and events, and financially supporting organizations they value. 

At the end of the event, Stephen Schiavi, a community member and president of the Utica City School District Board of Education who has been politically active leading teachers’ unions, reminded students of the importance of coming together to fight for what they care about. From his experience leading strikes and organizing unions, he believes we need a national strike to come together. He reminded students of the importance of continuing to fight for what they believe in, doing every action possible to make a difference.

As Lilly Yangchen ’20 recalls, “The speakers were very inspiring, and they initiated a meaningful dialogue, reminding us of our duties as responsible citizens. I also had an opportunity to interact with community members from Utica and that gave me a deeper understanding about the challenges we are facing today.  I think it is really important to have a platform like this to show support and stand in solidarity with other members of our community at such times.” The hope was that through these various perspectives at the event, students were able to come together as a community and learn how to become politically involved.

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