This past Monday marked the beginning of the 2019-2020 Academic Year at many East Coast Universities. As a chapter we have been applying the approach of musical snake marches on local college campuses to recruit students into the movement to drive out the Trump/Pence Regime. The outing detailed here was our second attempt. On Tuesday, the second day of classes, we headed to Temple University with the intent to wake students up, help them shake off complicity or thinking that they don’t have power, and to inspire them to step into the movement that is preparing to take to the streets and stay until the demand that the Trump/Pence Must Go is met. To put the challenge directly to students: Isn’t it time we go Puerto Rico on this regime, and drive them from power?!
One thing we noticed was that it was relatively quiet before we got there. There were many students, but it seemed so passive. There was a young black street preacher by the subway telling students to get down with the Bible, one socialist group tabling and a religious student group playing music holding a sign saying, “Join us!” but otherwise not much activity. We began with two of us, one on the megaphone, chanting “Silence is complicity with white supremacy. Which side are you on? Which side are you on? Trump/Pence Must Go!” and the other chanting/keeping beat but also getting out materials primarily stickers. As we marched through campus, students looked up from their phones and laptops. We went up to groups spread out on the lawn getting out stickers and small flyer that said “Want to see the Trump/Pence Regime out NOW? Join Refuse Fascism: Get Organized To Drive Out The Trump/Pence Regime” it had an upcoming meet-up but really focused on getting students to connect on social media. Students main response was “YES!” there was some ‘yea but what do you want me to do?’ To that, we put to people that we are preparing to get in the streets and stay till Trump/Pence must go, to be like the people of Puerto Rico and drive out this MF. The idea was not to have long conversations but make as much impact as possible. Soon we were joined by a new organizer who came to a recent meeting followed by a banner hang. Once she arrived we were able to distribute most of our materials and cover most of the campus, marching and chanting, going up and down. We had some people sign up.
This new organizer put to people “If this regime gives you anxiety. Join us”
Our chants echoed the campus, encouraging people to follow us, take photos and share them using the hashtag. We were challenging people, disrupting dinner as we roved through people eating at the outdoor foodcourt. It was really joyful and we began to get a sense of a kernel of possibility of what this could be if done on a mass scale. We called out that we can’t just go along with our studies as if the world isn’t on fire, we gotta role to play in stopping this. Then another new organizer came, we were able to get a better rhythm with the drum and we were able to create more of a scene with rhythm, reaching out to students. While we couldn’t have a lot of on the spot engagement/discussions we were able to make a real impact in a short amount of time.
Even in our limited actions we got a wide range of responses from students. Some said that every day it is something new and awful, while others expressed their palpable fear about what is happening to the environment. There was a lot of agreement that 2020 is too late. Students inside class could hear us and see some, and some were coming to the window not listening to the professor but wanting stickers. There was some clapping, some big smiles. Others we spoke with on the lawn were really responsive to what we were saying connecting whats needed here being like what happened in Puerto Rico. One who signed up even said, ‘I’ve been looking for something.’ We tried to get students to join us in chanting, marching but were not successful in that.
Students were organized on the spot by taking photos/video for RF Philly social media, signing up, and taking flyers. One of the new organizers focused on getting students to take stacks of stickers to get up. We encouraged everyone to find us on instagram, follow us, take a photo of sticker and use #TrumpPenceMustGo hashtag and encouraged them to join chant.
We definitely made and impact towards setting a very different tone for the whole semester, and that this approach was more inviting to students than some of our previous attempts on campus where we were just agitating and handing out materials.
The two new organizers were really excited. They said it took a minute to get over their social anxiety but then felt so comfortable just being out there. They are compelled to act, and did so, and worked it through very quickly.
College students’ futures, the future of all of humanity, and the planet itself hangs in the balance. Whether this generation continues to resign their outrage and heartache to tweets or whether they get in the streets is extremely decisive to ending this nightmare of the Trump/Pence regime.
We want to encourage more chapters to take this up. Some ideas we had to do this regularly on campus and find more ways to involve students right on the spot included: having sidewalk chalk, getting more stacks in people hands, having students record video, doing a Facebook Live and interviewing students, having students go into their instagram on the spot & follow us & do a post, fundraising (even while having snake march maybe set up table nearby where students could buy signs for dorms or beanies), having instruments out for students to take up, having students get on bullhorn, having students swipe us in to get into buildings, etc). If we had a couple more people we could have done more of this. Also next time, we want to let people know about having a meet-up that day or following day ON the campus.
Wherever you are, invite people esp. musicians and singers to join with a simple message like this:
Everyone on the side of stopping white supremacy, of fascism is needed to get in the streets and make some joyous noise of a people waking up to say and act on: In the Name of Humanity: We REFUSE To Accept a Fascist America We Demand: The Trump/Pence Regime Must GO!
Social Media:
https://twitter.com/refusefascismPH/status/1166512132034371584?s=20
https://twitter.com/refusefascismPH/status/1166478560158212096?s=20
https://www.facebook.com/refusefascismphilly/posts/2256780997965539
https://www.facebook.com/RefuseFascism/posts/2130813207212684