Charles Nailen/The Hoya

Yesterday afternoon, a number of members of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee emerged from their tents in Red Square, circled up and began planning their action for that afternoon. At 1:00 p.m., as drummers stamped out a slow, muffled beat in the background, the students yelled for the attention of the crowd and began their protest. Passersby circled around to watch the display, Solidarity members made their way through the crowd with petitions and one student delivered short speeches with a megaphone.

This time, however, the protest was not over whether the United States should go to war with Iraq, but whether Georgetown University was providing its workers with fair wages.

Instead of protesting the living conditions of Central American sweat shop laborers, Iraqis or Palestinians, the students addressed the conditions of wage earners in the Washington, D.C. area, especially those employed by the university. Organizers sought to raise public awareness about the wages paid to such workers, which they believe are unfair.

The organizers incorporated a new kind of protest, which Mary Nagle (COL ’05), a member of the GSC and an organizer of the event, called “radical cheerleading.” Six participants choreographed a “cheer,” complete with pom-poms and enthusiastic rhymed phrases. “Shake your booty for wages, ‘cause that’s what we need; shake your booty against corporate greed,” the students cheered.

The protest, which was intentionally scheduled during the passing period before 1:15 classes, drew the attention of several students. Some, like Shaina Jones (SFS ’03), who stopped to see the protest on the way to class, supported the action. “It’s definitely a good idea for students to see what’s going on,” Jones said. “I’m glad they’re making a lot of noise about it.”

Other students were more critical of the action. “It seems like chameleon social activism,” Blake Loweth (MSB ’03) said. “I’m not against it, I just think they should have some unified agenda.”

Indeed, many wondered why an organization that has been so heavily involved in war protests over the past several months decided to shift the focus away from Iraq. The fact that the students used the staple chant of the anti-war movement, “No justice, no peace,” seemed to add to the confusion. “The war’s obviously more important, because people are dying every day,” John MacLeod, (MSB ’05), said. “People aren’t dying from low wages.”

For the GSC, however, the issues are not unrelated, broadly speaking. “A lot of the conflicts that lead to war have their roots in poverty,” Nagle said. “People who believe in the living wage see the conflicts as interrelated.”

Dr. Mark Lance, a philosophy professor and a longtime activist, agrees. “The war feels more urgent because it’s in the news, and people are dying daily.” But, Lance adds, “These ongoing economic problems, at the end of the day, all put together, are killing just as many people.”

Organizers of the protest felt it was important to draw attention to the kinds of issues that are often forgotten during times of war. “It’s easy to overlook what’s right in front of your face,” Nagle said, referring to the working conditions of wage earners in the Washington, D.C., area.

Nick Laskowski (COL ’03), another organizer of the protest, agreed. “No one wants to think about people who wash dishes and clean sheets.”

The protest did not draw as much attention as the anti-war protestsof the past few months, but after cheerleading for about 20 minutes, the protesters felt they had made their point. The organizers also felt they had reached out to students outside of the activist community. “Most of the people who stopped [at the tables set up outside the tents] were not members of the campaign,” Nagle said, “and that’s the most important thing.”