Demonstration at Fort Benning

By MARISA OLIVER

Ten Santa Clara students and staff members will host a meeting on Tuesday about a demonstration at Fort Benning. The presentation will be about the experiences of the group, information on the School of Americas and ways the Santa Clara community can continue to learn and get involved.

They traveled to Fort Benning, Ga. to participate in a demonstration at the School of the Americas last November. The demonstration marked the 10th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuits, their housekeeper and her daughter at the Jesuit-run University of Central America in El Salvador.

This is an issue close to the hearts of many Santa Clara students and faculty.

Of the Santa Clara community and the massacre in El Salvador, Associate Campus Minister Randy Sweringen said "There are many points of connection."

One of the Jesuits killed received an honorary doctorate here in 1982, according to Associate Campus Minister Lulu Santana.

The white crosses in front of the Mission are in remembrance of the eight lives lost in El Salvador.

"I didn't know about the murders in El Salvador until my freshman year," senior Kathleen Doherty said. "The memorial has brought the human rights abuses and injustices of Latin America to our campus. It is important that we never forget what happened - that it never happens again."The demonstrators at Fort Benning last November were striving for just that. Organized by SOA Watch and founded in 1990 by Roy Bourgeois, SJ, the campaign is calling for the closure of the school, which is run by the U.S. Army and funded by U.S. taxpayers. The SOA is designed for military officers from Latin America, and trains soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. Graduates include Manuel Noriega and the assassins of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Of the 26 soldiers that took part in the murders at the University of Central America, 19 were graduates of SOA.

The November demonstration to honor the memories of those martyred in El Salvador began in peaceful protest and came to a climax with a solemn funeral procession. Speakers included the sole survivor of the El Mozote Massacre, whose family and children were murdered along with 900 members of her village.

More than 12,000 protesters took part in the 10th anniversary, a dramatic increase from the first anniversary in which only 10 protesters gathered at the gates of Fort Benning.

Santa Clara staff and students represented one of 242 colleges and universities that gathered. "Labor interests, Native American groups and Zen Buddhists were all part of the protest," Student Coordinator for Santa Clarans for Social Justice Frank Kreikebaum said. "There was opportunity for different groups to speak; the view of a variety of people were there."

The 12,000 in attendance never became violent, and went to lengths to make sure not a scrap of evidence was left on the grounds. Although thousands of protesters risked civil disobedience charges, fewer than 100 people were arrested and 23 were cited.

"It was very peaceful, very peaceful," Sweringen said.