Columbia University students protest Minuteman Project

Anita Varma Editor in Chief

Thousands of students at colleges nationwide have become involved in debates over immigration and how to address illegal immigration in the U.S. Last spring, the school year concluded with many members of the Vassar community participating in the May 1 march in support of undocumented workers. This month, controversy over an anti-illegal immigration speaker has erupted at Columbia University, resulting in violence and slurs at the campus event.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, head of the Minuteman Project Jim Gilchrist was giving a talk when more than 20 students stormed the stage and began chanting against the Minuteman Project. Gilchrist did not complete his presentation, and accounts of the remainder of the protest are conflicting, as protestors say that they were kicked and beaten, while other reports claim that the protestors initiated the violence. Photographs of the incident have provided strong evidence of the identity of one Gilchrist supporter kicking a protestor in the head.

According to the Minuteman Web site, “The Minuteman Project is a citizens’ vigilance operation monitoring immigration, business, and government” (minutemanproject.com). The Minuteman Project rallied volunteers last year to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the U.S.

Columbia University College Republicans invited the Minuteman Project to Columbia.

Major media coverage of the incident has been framed around questions of free speech, addressing the contentious question about whether the protestors were unreasonably squelching the Minuteman Project’s right to speak.

Vassar student Ryan Meltzer ’07 attended the Minuteman talk. Meltzer, a political science major, is writing his thesis on the Minuteman Project and how it has shaped immigration debates. In terms of the Minutemen’s free speech, Meltzer said that he did not think the Minutemen were victims of having their voices silenced. “The Minutemen, as a small group of people, have a lot of power over the media…whereas these undocumented immigrants in the United States have no voice, and they’re a huge group,” said Meltzer. “To cast this as a debate over free speech is so limiting and it cuts out so much of what happened. The protest has given fuel to the Minutemen, which is an unintended consequence.”

Columbia University’s student television station, CTV, covered the protest live. Since then, they have also covered follow-up events related to the protest, including a town hall meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Among other student groups, the Chicano Political Caucus participated. According to CTV, “Contributors to the discussion asserted that the protest had nothing to do with free speech, and the reactions and coverage of the event neglect to address underlying racial issues.”

Vassar Geography Professor Joseph Nevins gave a lecture last year on the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policies. In terms of the Columbia controversy being angled around the Minutemen instead of immigration laws, Nevins said, “The Minutemen are in some ways a symptom of a much larger disease. That disease is a kind of hypernationalism and a law and order approach to immigration to the U.S-Mexico boundary…We need to look at this larger disease, not simply the Minutemen.”

Although Gilchrist’s speech was cut off as he was removed from the stage on Oct. 4, the Minuteman Project does not intend to stay away from the University for long. An Oct. 16 press release on the Minuteman Web site stated, “The Minuteman Project intends to return to Columbia University. They are committed to finishing the meeting which was so uncivilly interrupted. Their message, according to spokesmen, remains that of peaceful citizen participation to assist with responsible administration of U.S. immigration laws, starting with secure borders.”

Most recently, the Minuteman Project has announced its intention to file suit against Columbia Univer-sity and Chicano Caucus members. While students of color at Columbia are arguing that the Minuteman Project has a racist message, Gilchrist and Minuteman Project member Marvin Stewart (who gave a presentation directly before Gilchrist took the podium at the Oct. 4 event) are arguing that the protestors used racist language.

Stewart, an African American, is filing suit because of a racial epithet used against him during the Oct. 4. Gilchrist also says he was assaulted when the protestors seized the stage. As of Oct. 20, Gilchrist and Stewart had filed police reports, and investigations for the Minuteman Project’s lawsuit were underway.

Sources:
“Disruption of a Speech Causes a Furor at Columbia” by Karen W. Arenson and Damien Cave in the Oct. 7 issue of The New York Times.
“Minutemen Intent to File Suit: University Says Investigation Has Been Ongoing Since Oct. 4” by Leora Falk in the Oct. 20 issue of the Columbia Spectator.