PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

At Carnegie Mellon, Two Worlds on MLK, Jr Day
by Quinten Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 at 1:59 PM
quinten@andrew.cmu.edu

Below - local activist Steve Donahue holds a sign that reads "Disarm CMU" in front of Carnegie Mellon's Warner Hall. Donahue and others were at CMU on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to protest the university's military funding and the fact that school takes only a half-day in honor of Dr. King's birthday.

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Outside Carnegie Mellon University's Warner Hall a handful of local students and community members protested the University's military spending, distributing flyers and listening to Martin Luther King's famous speech in which he criticized the Vietnam War. The protest has become an annual MLK day event, spearheaded by longtime local activist Vince Eirene. The protestors, numbering only a handful, were outnumbered by members of the press. Reporters in attendance included a representative of the Tribune Review, the Pitt News, several reporters for the Carnegie Mellon student newspaper the Tartan, and our own Independent Media Center.

Inside the University Center, President Cohon gave his annual MLK day "State of Diversity at Carnegie Mellon" speech. Announcing the University's decision to file an amicus brief in the pending University of Michican affirmative action suits, President Cohon recieved a standing ovation from the crowd. Cohon criticized President Bush's recent statement that opposed the University of Michigan's admission policy, calling his use of the word "quota" to describe the system a "cynical political statement designed to appeal to [President Bush's] [political] right" and that it was empty of any merit.

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At Carnegie Mellon, Two World's on MLK, Jr Day
by Quinten Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 at 1:59 PM
quinten@andrew.cmu.edu

eirene-stevenson.jpg, image/jpeg, 640x609

Veteran peace activist Vincent Eirene talks to Art Institute of Pittsburgh student Renee Stevenson in the foreground, while in the background activist Frank Smith talks with a member of the Carnegie Mellon Police. Three members of the Carnegie Mellon Police force were at the demonstration, including a sergeant and, briefly, Chief of Police Creig Doyle.

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