In the passageway of a Metro-North train headed for Grand Central Station, Jocelyn Boryczka, politics professor and director of peace and justice studies, stood in front of 56 members of the University community.
“You have the right to free speech in the United States of America,” she said.
Fairfield students, professors and other Connecticut citizens gathered in New York City to participate in a peaceful protest last Saturday against the war in Iraq. When they arrived, they joined 45,000 other advocates of peace to walk the streets downtown.
The protest was part of a nationwide demonstration organized by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), a coalition comprised of more than 1,300 local and national groups from all over the country that combine efforts to protest the war in Iraq, according to the UFPJ Web site. Nationwide, about 100,000 people participated in the protest.
The strong sense of unity with the other protesters started as the group walked toward 17th Street where it congregated before the march started.
Because of the rain, many of the signs students had worked on the night before were ruined, but strangers at the rally stepped in to supply the group with new signs. Many students, including Ceylan Conger ’08, agreed that the rain added to the experience.
“I liked the rain; it was more fun that way,” she said.
The group started marching downtown at 1 p.m., after standing on 17th Street listening to invited speakers and waving their signs in the air.
People from many different groups and backgrounds marched along as though they were in a parade. Policemen watched from the sidewalk as the group peacefully expressed its beliefs on the war.
During the march, Fairfield representatives led chants and songs and joined other groups in popular chants such as, “The USA and the Middle East: No Justice, No Peace,” and “What do we want? Peace! When do we want it? NOW!”
Dan Arroyo ’09, who led many of the chants as the group walked downtown in unison, signaled his appreciation for the experience with a simple thumbs up.
At the halfway mark, war veterans and protest organizers cheered for the group as they continued on. The students said they really felt a strong sense of connection with the people around them.
“To see all the people from different walks of life was really inspiring,” said Jess Brown ’08.
The trip to the protest was organized by the peace and justice studies program at Fairfield. The newly appointed director of the program, Boryczka, was the coordinator of the event and worked hard to get everything organized.
Students said they appreciated the opportunity to protest. Many of the students, including Katelin Heltz ’11, had never been to a protest before.
“It was an empowering experience and the passion of the people was not deterred by the rain,” she said.
For some students, a sense of political activism was aroused by the powerful chants.
“There was one chant that I really liked. It was, ‘Tell me what democracy looks like. This is what democracy looks like,'” said Jenny Krazee ’08. “I feel there is a lot of substance behind it.”
Many people in the group expressed satisfaction with the number of people who participated.
“I think it was a really good turnout for Fairfield, which was our goal,” said Conger.
Still, some students said they were surprised that only a handful of professors came.
However, Boryczka was extremely pleased with the results of the day’s event, a product of her hard work.
“First of all, I’ve been teaching for 15 years, and this is probably one of the best teaching experiences I’ve ever had,” she said.
Members of Pax Christi, a national Catholic group that strives for peace, from all over Connecticut heard of the peace protest and joined the students.
Sister Rosemary Sullivan from the Congregation of Notre Dame said she was happy to join the younger crowd.
“As a group, we wanted to support peace efforts made by colleges. We see a definite link between us,” she said. “The young bring enthusiasm and the older bring wisdom, and enthusiasm too. Together, that’s a really powerful force.”
Other Pax Christi members, including Fairfield citizens Jane and Jim Schweitzer, were happy to speak out with the Fairfield students.
“We just feel like we have to do something. If everyone just sits idly by, this war is just going to continue and get worse,” said Jane Schweitzer.
Vince Burns, from Hamden, Conn., spoke about how he has been going to protests for many years.
“I’ve been involved in peace and justice movements for a long time. I’m an activist. I like to be loud and with the crowd and ambitious,” he said.
Joy Gordon, a Fairfield philosophy professor, attended and worked on the event with Boryczka.
The event was also co-sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Center for Catholic Studies, the women’s studies program, the office of Mission and Identity, Ignatian Residential College, College Democrats, Students for Social Justice, the history and politics departments and the Center for Faith and Public Life.
“I think it’s mostly about giving Fairfield students experience,” said Gordon.
Fr. Jim Bowler, S.J., of Mission and Identity, was also present at the event.
“I think it’s important to support the faculty and the students,” he said.
Bowler also said that the Church is for creating awareness at this opportune time: “Mobilization is important in an election year because people are going to listen.”
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