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The Rice Thresher
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by MEGHAN MILLER THRESHER STAFF
University students nationwide gathered at 11 a.m. to show support for protesters in Washington, D.C., and to learn more about WTO policies and their consequences. Complaints against the IMF and World Bank include inactivity toward world hunger, poverty, militarization, environmental problems, sexism and human rights. Organized by Wiess College students Miles Rodriguez, a freshman, and Maya Balakrishnan, a senior, the rally was originally publicized as a walkout where people could come to show support for a cause. They decided to change the event to a "teach-in," where people could come and learn more about the issue. "A lot [of students] didn't know what the IMF, WTO and World Bank were," Balakrishnan said. "Making it just a walkout doesn't make any sense at Rice." The three main speakers explained their individual organi-zation's concerns and their places in the national activist convergence in Washington, D.C., calling for an end to the IMF and the World Bank in order to "Globalize Liberation, not Corporate Power," as one of the fliers handed out at the rally said. Alliance for Global Justice, 50 Years is Enough Network and Solidarity are some of the organizations involved in the national effort, along with the Communist Party USA and the Green Party. The IMF and World Bank are "great for the rich and great for the centralization of power," CPUSA representative Bernard Sampson said at the teach-in. He called for an end to partisan politics. Sampson said there is very little difference between the Democratic and Republican parties, like two arms on the same body. A member of the Communist Party since high school, Sampson spoke about the continuing disparity between the rich and the poor and labor rights. "It's nothing new," he said. "It's just the people over time that have changed." Doug Sandage, Texas Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, was more concerned with environmental issues. After a few cracks about politicians, Rice University and Houston's air quality, he reeled off a series of statistics concerning deforestation, species loss and the economy. "Houston is the worst in America in terms of the industrial environment, air and water quality, the direction we're going and the hollow look on people's faces," Sandage said. Citing road rage, school violence and drugs as signs of the need for reform, Sandage explained the Green Party platform of "social justice, economic wisdom, nonviolence and a grassroots movement" as a forum for change. "We want private profits to take a back seat to the public interest. We don't want a world government, especially one run out of Geneva by massive corporations under the guise of 'global free trade,'" Sandage wrote in an April 9 Houston Chronicle column. In it, he asked voters to sign petitions to put the Green Party on the ballots. 50,000 signatures are needed in the next 50 days, and a copy of the column and the petitions were circulated at the rally. Sampson entreated students to use their education to change global politics. "You're being trained to help the people we're fighting against right now," he said. "You have the chance to use this education to turn the tables." Sociology Department Chair Chandler Davidson suggested actions students and others could take to be "involved in humankind." Davidson emphasized the need to analyze issues and talked about missionary work and humanitarian organizations like the Peace Corps, UNICEF and Amnesty International. "If it is necessary to reform the workings of international organizations, analysis is less exciting than protests, but essential," he said. Davidson suggested study groups, study abroad programs devoted to examining the consequences of globalization and courses on the functions of the WTO, IMF and the World Bank. "The death of an African child from AIDS is as important as the death of an American child," Davidson said. "Act in a way that will increase the chances of the poorest person to lead a full life." Students said they were impressed with the speakers' arguments and suggestions. "It was good because it introduced ideas students might not have been exposed to," Will Rice junior Jason Hardy, a Green Party supporter, said. Some students said they were unhappy with the rally because although the first two speakers were interesting, they did not give much information on the IMF and World Bank. Also, they said only Davidson offered suggestions for change. "They were speaking at a really abstract level without making a connection to the students," Hanszen College junior Morela Hernandez said. Hernandez said she and Balakrishnan are planning forums to educate students on the workings of global politics. Hernandez's father worked for the Inter-American Development Bank, an international organization much like the World Bank, for three years, evaluating and distributing funding for social reform projects in developing Central American countries. He is currently the campaign manager for Honduran presidential candidate Ricardo Maduro, whose main platform is social reform and education. Balakrishnan studied abroad in South Africa and worked on a water sanitation public health project. She is working with Rodriguez to form Rice Students for Global Justice, an organization devoted to raising awareness, holding discussion forums and serving as a network for student activists. "I know students who are concerned with issues but act on an individual basis. There hasn't been a concerted, active effort by a collective mass," Balakrishnan said about political activism at Rice. Hardy hopes the new organization will help mobilize students. "There is a lot of fragmentation of interests that need some sort of conglomeration," he said. More information about the WTO, IMF and World Bank, as well as Monday's rally is available at www.owlnet.rice.edu/~traveler. - back - |
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