VitW members said they wouldn't leave the office until University officials could explain, to their satisfaction, how they could justify selecting Ms. Albright for this honor. Dr. Margaret Barr, who is in charge of the commencement exercises, said that the disagreement over the choice of a recipient for the honorary degree is simply a "difference of opinion."
VitWmember Bert Sacks stated that one million civilian deaths in Iraq represents, to him, a tragedy as profound as that of Auschwitz."One cannot be indifferent to such suffering," said Sacks. VitW members were told that they could remain in the office until 5:00 p.m., but after that they would have to leave.
Shortly after this notice, VitW members began, once every ten minutes, to quietly circulate through the 15 or so desks and cubicles in the President's office, knocking on each door, and telling theemployees that in the past ten minutes another Iraqi child had died because of economic sanctions against Iraq. The employees were mainly sympathetic to these brief overtures. However, Dr. Barr warned the VitW members not to continue "bothering" the workers.
Within fifteen minutes, Northwestern University Police arrested the six VitW members and charged them with criminal trespass. A court date was set for July 9, 1999. Five of those arrested have traveled to Iraq in violation of the US/UN economic sanctions and have witnessed the tragic consequences of the most comprehensive state of siege ever imposed in modern history.
Facing charges of criminal trespass for today's action are: Rev. G.Simon Harak, SJ of Baltimore, MD; David Ferguson of Blacksburg, VA; Steve Jacobs of Columbia, MO; Kathy Kelly of Chicago,IL; Ken Hannaford-Ricardi, of Worcester, MA; and Bert>Sacks of Seattle, WA.
The six plan to join with at least a dozen others for actions on Wednesday and Thursday. Bishop Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit, MI will join them on Thursday morning. He has traveled to Iraq on three occasions and has frequently challenged Ms. Albright's public statements that the deaths of over one half million children are "worth the price" and that the US must use force because "we stand tall..we are the indispensable nation."
We'll keep you posted as the actions develop.