lxxxii
2.7.08
published on 04/05/07
This Week at Vassar in 1986
On April 10, 1986, 13 students from Vassar, Marist and Dutchess Community Colleges protested outside the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) building in Poughkeepsie and were subsequently arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. The students were protesting against IBM’s sale of computers in South Africa because it was alleged that the South African government used those computers in the enforcement of apartheid policies.
Approximately 25 students marched in front of the building carrying signs bearing slogans such as “Human Lives Are More Important Than Profits” and shouting, “IBM, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.” Later, demonstrators padlocked the main doors of the building and 12 people sat blocking the doors, an act that constituted civil disobedience. Others continued picketing.
When students refused to move away from the door, the police broke the chain and escorted those blocking the entrance and one picketer into police vans. Male protestors were forcibly guided into the vans, while females were not physically touched. Due to overwhelming public opposition, fueled in part by such protests, IBM officially divested from South Africa in 1987.
—Emma Epstein, Life Editor
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Alumnae/i posters are strongly encouraged to include their class year with their name. The maximum length for comments is approximately 100 words; longer responses should be submitted as letters to the editor to misc@vassar.edu. More information about our letters policy can be found on our Policies page.
