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by David Lukmire '02
| • | More About OPAL |
| • | An Essay by Sarah Saunders |
| • | A
New Age of Activism (OAM, Spring 2002) |
MAY
7 , 2002--On the weekend
of April 13-14, three Oberlin students representing the Oberlin Peace
Activists League (OPAL) traveled to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for a march
and a peace rally to protest nuclear weapons production at the Y-12
National Security Complex.
On the morning of April 14, Kate Berrigan '03 recalled, an estimated 200-300 activists from around the country converged on a park approximately two miles from the plant before marching to its gates. Protesters carried banners, signs, and wore various signs and costumes. Fifty protesters risked arrest by blocking the road in front of the plant in an act of civil disobedience. "The police just waited us out. We left after about 1 1/2 hours," says Berrigan.
Berrigan, Sarah Saunders 03, and David Jessop '03 took part in the demonstration, organized by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, a small non-governmental organization that researches American nuclear policy. Saunders got the members of OPAL involved in the April demonstration after her winter term internship with the group and a week-long workshop on nonviolent political activism.
The Oberlin Peace Activists League is a student organization of nonviolent activism that focuses on peace and justice issues. Chartered in 1997, the group represents a continuation of Oberlin’s long tradition of student activism.
"All of us have been involved in OPAL since we first came to Oberlin," says Saunders.
Please send comments, questions, and suggestions about Oberlin Online news and feature articles to online.news@oberlin.edu.
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