Protesting sure has taken an interesting turn at American colleges recently. Let’s start here at Columbia. As of 6 pm, there were five protestors outside the main gates, protesting about the Minuteman protest which occured six months ago today.  What about it?  Three prim women, from New Yorkers for Immigration Control and Enforcement, are upset that the students haven’t been punished more severely.  Interestingly, their flyer claims “only three of nine students investigated       

have been charged with simple violations.”  In reality, three were charged with simple violations and three more were censured, a harsher punishment.  Also, their sign reading “Bollinger Stop Columbia Cover-Up,” is puzzling, as covered-up stories generally don’t have an inordinate amount of news coverage on major networks. 

Factual inaccuracies aside, NYICE are an interesting bunch.  They told Bwog Editor Lydia DePillis that they estimate their numbers around 100, and that some of them were present at Ground Zero over the weekend protesting the illegal presence of some of the hijackers in the U.S..  They also had a few colorful quotes, protesting both the mortality of socialist thinkers (“that’s Marxist talk…Marx died!”) and the nationality of those near them (“You’re French, oh my God, I’m dealing with French people”).  They did, however, draw more press than people–ISO President David Judd, who tipped Bwog off to the story, remarked “I wish my 5-person ‘rallies’ could get coverage like this” and says to watch tomorrow’s Spec for statements from the Columbia protestors on their punishment.

Protests elsewhere in the country after the jump! 

Yesterday in Washington, D.C., students from American University staged a more ballsy protest, blocking the exit of Bush Deputy Chief of Staff and political puppetmastermind Karl Rove and throwing “unknown objects” at his car.  Unlikely the comparatively whiny Minutemen, the tough Rove staff took it in stride.  While USSS agents did move students away from the car, Washington Post reports Rove’s spokeswoman shrugged it off, saying ol’ Karl was never in any danger and “is pleased to accept invitations to speak to groups” (eh, Kulawik?).  The Bush PR machine wasn’t the only party who played it well: the students attempted their “citizen’s arrest” after Rove spoke to AU College Republicans avoided any free speech controversy. News segment from NBC4 here. Student video here on YouTube.

As if this wasn’t enough, up in New Haven, Connecticut, three Yale students might be going down for burning a flag.  The Yalies, foreign born and two of them non-citizens, probably won’t be protected by the first amendment, since they set fire to a flag on the front of somebody else’s house.  They’re being charged with several offenses, including reckless endangerment and arson.

– DHI