“What do we want? We’re not sure! When do we want it? Soon!”
“Fight inaction! Take some action!”
“We’ve got soul, let’s take control!”
Chants like these echoed across campus Monday morning as about 20 students from the group Everybody Moves Against Control took to the streets with gloves, scarves and improvised picket signs to protest student apathy at Northwestern.
Tara Dubbs, a coordinator of the event, said the protest is the first of several events sponsored by the group in the next couple weeks, including a “guerilla gardening” project on Friday, which will supply students with seeds to plant in unused land across campus. The group also hopes to organize what Dubbs called an “observational walk” from Chicago back to Evanston to build a “mobile soapbox” for people to stand on and speak about issues important to them.
“I know it seems kind of comical to protest against apathy, but the underlying issue is serious,” the Medill senior said.
The protesters met at the Arch at 11 a.m. and began a winding tour of South Campus, chanting along the way and cheering when cars honked in support. They were “escorted out of Norris” because they were told no yelling was allowed inside, according to Dubbs.
“I thought we were speaking at a high but socially acceptable volume,” Dubbs said.
Dubbs said Northwestern students didn’t seem particularly apathetic about specific issues, but there was a troubling “sentiment of complacency” among students.
The protesters regrouped at the Arch after their brush with the authorities in Norris and decided to cross Sheridan Road. After a brief pass through the sorority quads, they turned back in a familiar direction.
“We’ll probably head back to Norris,” Dubbs said. “We have to stick it to the man.”