 "Photo: photo courtesy of Matt O'Donnell")
This weekend, 16,000 people participated in a funeral march for eight individuals slain 15 years ago. The victims were six Jesuit priests and two church members. The funeral march was held outside the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Fort Benning, Ga.
The funeral march was part of a weekend-long protest against the WHISC, formerly named the School of the Americas. It is still commonly referred to by that name.
WHISC is a tax payer-funded military school for Latin Americans. The school has been under scrutiny for allegedly training militants who later committed civil rights abuses and murder.
On Nov. 16, 1989, members of the Salvadorian military murdered six Jesuit priests and two female co-workers in El Salvador. Some of the Salvadorian military that murdered the Jesuits had been trained at the SOA or by generals trained at the SOA.
Because of this incident, thousands of people gather outside the gates of the school annually on the anniversary of the Jesuits' murder. The majority of Jesuit universities and high schools send students or faculty members to the annual protest. This year, Loyola sent approximately 80 people to the protest.
"[Loyola is] a Jesuit school that promotes a faith that does justice," Rachel Hart, University Ministry chaplain and an organizer of the event, said. "It was a powerful experience, and I felt privileged to be there voicing my concern for justice."
Even though members of the administration, including the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, Loyola's president, supported the SOA protestors, the Unified Student Government voted not to issue a statement of support for the student protestors.
The measure did not pass by a vote of 21-19 at USG's Nov. 9 senate meeting.
According to junior Erica Badie, president of USG, the legislation passed last year.
"While we do service projects, uphold the Jesuit ideals and support the university's mission statement, the majority [of USG] did not feel legislation of this nature was in our scope," Badie said. "In a nutshell, the simple majority felt it was not a matter of USG direct concern, it was not our place as a student governing body to support protesting in any form."
Junior Charles Frommelt, USG vice president of academic affairs, voted against issuing the support statement.
"I don't think that it is important for the USG to vote on the [WHISC] trip because I don't feel as though the USG should be voting on any legislation that is either against or supporting any student protesting," Frommelt said. Frommelt said that the legislation was important to those in favor of the protest.
"I think the legislation is important to the protestors and to the part of the student body that supports the protestors," Frommelt said. "I think that they feel the legislation is important because I think that they would like the written support of the USG."
This year, junior Alena Chaps went on the trip for her fourth time. She disagreed with USG's decision to not issue a statement of support.
"We're committed to representing Loyola and supporting social justice -- which is the mission of the school," Chaps said. "I think we should have the school's complete support, including the student government." Chaps noted that Garanzini, University Mission and Ministry and the Jesuit community supported the students' trip.
One student organizer for the trip, junior Quinn Colling, feels that the majority of the student body is in support of the trip but that many -- such as members of USG - are uninformed on the issue.
"I am disappointed with the USG not supporting this legislation as they had in years past," Colling said. "I feel that the board is not very reflective on the student body."
Likewise, sophomore Emily Vanney, another student organizer, was bothered by USG's vote on the legislation.
"I couldn't help but feel betrayed by USG," Vanney said. "Especially [considering] Fr. Garanzini, before we left for Georgia, came to tell us how proud he is of what we're doing and how proud the rest of the university is as well."
Vanney said that USG members did not need to agree with the views of the protestors to show a sign of support for students standing up for an issue they believe in. However, she realized that the decision by the small majority of USG senate members is not necessarily a reflection of all members of the university.
"One thing that makes me feel better is that the views of USG may not be indicative of the views of the student body as a whole," Vanney said. Even though USG voted against issuing an official sign of support, Badie said the body does not condemn the SOA protestors' actions. Badie noted that the annual vote changes depending on the constituents represented year to year.
"I know for a fact that all persons dissenting on this legislation wish the students the best of luck in their protesting endeavors," Badie said. "However, they did not feel it was USG's job to make that sentiment a formal document."
Senior Nicole Garland, the communications vice president for Marquette University student government, said the SOA protest is a "hot issue" at many Jesuit schools.
"I am surprised that Loyola's student government would not support the students in this important annual event," Garland said.
Even though the MUSG made no public endorsement of the School of the Americas' trip, Garland said the MUSG voted to endorse the trip through approving its funding request.
At Marquette, MUSG's allocation committee must vote on organizations that request over $1,500 funding for events. This year, as in previous years, Marquette's Jesuit University Students Together In Concern Empowerment group requested several thousand dollars to fund the majority of the group's trip to Ft. Benning.
Garland said that MUSG voted to fund the trip because it supported the university's mission statement.
"The senators unanimously voted to approve the funding because of [the] close ties [the] SOA has with Jesuit history," Garland said. "It also strongly supports the Marquette University mission of 'dedicated to serving God by serving our students and contributing to the advancement of knowledge.'"
At Loyola, Hart said that the trip was partially funded by the Jesuit community, such as the Arrupe King fund and Mission and Ministry. Hart said she felt the university and the Jesuit community were very supportive of the trip.
Near the WHISC on Friday, students from Loyola and Marquette, along with various other institutions, participated in an Ignatian Teach-In. The event is designed to teach students from Jesuit universities and high schools about WHISC through speakers, prayers and music. Speakers included Hart, senior Tess Kleinhaus and Sr. Helen Prejean, the author of "Dead Man Walking."
Although the protestors ultimately would like to get the government to close the WHISC, protestors also wanted to inform participants about the school.
The next day, students protested outside the gates of the institution. On Sunday, activists protested the institution through a funeral procession from Fort Benning Way to the gates of the school. Nearly 30 people were arrested during the protest. Actors Susan Sarandon and Martin Sheen also attended the protest.
During the funeral procession, protestors read off the names of people that have been killed as a result of the training provided by the SOA. The list took two-and- a-half hours to read. Chaps remembered that there was one victim as young as 6 months old.
Chaps has gone on four SOA protests after an immersion trip to El Salvador. There, she said she met people who had been affected by the policies of the SOA.
"It never ceases to overwhelm me how many people have been victimized by the School of the Americas," Chaps said.
Junior Allison Berry, a student organizer for the protest, and other attendees had opportunities to hear from people who suffered at the hands of SOA graduates.
"We heard stories from families who were forced to run from their homes in the middle of the night so that they would not be killed," Berry said. "We heard stories from a man named Pedro, whose brothers, sisters and parents were killed in the Sumpul River massacre."
Chaps and Colling agreed that most students do not know much, if anything, about the SOA and the atrocities for which they feel the school is partially responsible.
Colling questioned how the WHISC continued to function despite the significant ties to human rights violations and atrocities.
"One can compare pictures taken in Iraq, of abuse and torture, to pictures taken in Latin America and not be able to tell a distinct difference," he said.
Despite the annual protests, the United States has not closed the school. Berry hopes that this year's protest helps to garner more attention for the people "dying at the hands of SOA graduates."
"I think it's important for students to be aware of institutions like the SOA because this is a place that is perpetuating violence in our world," Berry said. "I went because if I had stayed at home knowing these facts and not doing anything about them, I'm just helping to keep the school open."
Those interested in next year's SOA trip should contact Hart at rhart@luc.edu or Molly Menster, an intern in Mission and Ministry, at mmenste@luc.edu.
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