Activists Sit-in to Stand Up to CMU's Military Ties

Following the Thomas Merton Center mass march and rally, 300 people headed for the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), one of most military funded and connected, colleges in the nation. For months Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG) had stated the group would be beginning a sit-in/occupation to protest CMU’s development of weapons system for the US military and their general complicity in the war machine. Prior to marching, around 200 police from 4 agencies were stationed near the rally in the largest protest show of force by the police since the Vietnam War. Despite apprehension, many people began to head out with the march being led by a 4ft puppet replica of a robotic tank CMU is developing for the US marines. Dubbed ‘gladiator’ (by CMU) the puppet led the march on the sidewalks towards campus with participants and supporters in tow. The use of the sidewalk seemed to catch the police and some participants off guard. POG organizers later explained that months ago they had decided to use the sidewalks, expecting the police would assume they could disperse a street march and prevent people from reaching CMU. In order to make the sit-in as inclusive as possible organizers had previously selected CMU’s University Center as the sit-in target, a porous building difficult to shutdown and hard to stop people from entering. This proved accurate as, despite the large numbers of police on the scene, a CMU student simply opened a side door and 20+ people dashed inside, while the main contingent outside strode confidently past the police on the scene and entered through the main doors. A larger then expected 75 people participated in the sit-in and another 225 were initially present at the scene to provide witness and support in case of police violence. Making themselves comfortable on pleather chairs, a banner reading CMU students against the war was unfurled from a balcony, and events got underway.

Over the next 3 hrs there was a series of speeches that articulated the demands of those sitting-in to CMU, slam poetry, soccer, and a sound system was set up to provide music. Some participants danced and moshed to a variety of genres while others quietly read schoolbooks and did homework.

The reaction of the CMU administration was as expected, they chose to ignore the opportunity for dialogue and despite the presence of CMU’s police chief, the dean of student affairs, and many other ranking officials they refused to enter into any discussions with those sitting-in. When, after 3 hours of occupation this fact had become clear, POG and CMU students started a discussion on what course of action to take. After a 10 minute debate on how to proceed it became clear that there was consensus to declare the actions a success and go home. Organizers made the decision to leave because the sit-in had achieved everything it could achieve and no matter how much longer people stayed they didn’t feel they would achieve more. A lot of people felt that given this clear reality it was better to save the arrests people had anticipated for another time, turn the event into a party/sit-in/teach-in, and go home to plan for another day. Speakers congratulated those in attendance on the major victory they had won, encouraged them to get involved in planning future actions, and emphasized the point that this was just one in what will surely be a series of increasingly determined actions whose goal is to begin a dialogue with CMU on the demands that POG-members of the CMU community and concerned community members have put forth.

Organizers and participants were elated that the sit-in achieved what it did. Among the major victories cited: The large amounts of positive media attention that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred and the focus of the corporate media on CMU’s weapons development, including live interviews showing the puppet ‘gladiator’ along with an interview on it’s offensive capabilities. That CMU was forced before the protests occurred to acknowledge, in an email to the entire student body, the protests that were going to occur and to mention that the cause of these protests related to disputed research projects occurring on campus. Along with showing that direct action is possible at CMU and that there are students actively resisting the militarization of the University, the sit-in provided many people their first experience with taking any type of direct action. CMU repeatedly referred to those planning on participating as ‘outsiders’ who planned to invade the campus and the fact that there was such active participation from many CMU students and alumni embarrassed the administration. A final victory people mentioned was that the events brought together people of widely diverse tactical preferences in a unified action that built solidarity and respect among participants and between participants and observers. With a mix of around 1/3 people who usually do black blocs and 1/3 first time direct action participants, as well as a large number of people from the liberal and faith-based communities who came to bear witness and provide solidarity directly outside of the events, many stated this was one of the most diverse actions that many had taken part in and bodes well for the future of resistance in Pittsburgh. The one negative mentioned by many in POG was their frustration that there wasn’t a more tangible and direct way for people to register their opposition to CMU’s policies. The group felt there was a definite trade off between having the most tangible and direct place for a long-term occupation/sit-in and making the action as inclusive and likely as possible. Many groups indicated in their calls to action that they would be taking other actions if the sit-in was repressed or the march attacked, the fact that it wasn’t meant there weren’t other things going on. Maybe in the future groups will plan things to compliment other events (feeder marches might have been a nice addition to the m20 events, maybe a tour of local institutions with ties to the war, or affinity group actions at strategic locations in the city/CMU).

POG is now discussing, internally and with other groups, about how to continue to address CMU and other local institutions working on weapons of death. They invite you to join them. Updates will be available through www.organizepittsburgh.org For more info, contact them at pog@mutualaid.org.

- Leonor Fini

Students and sit-in participants form a human pyramid as part of the festivities at the CMU University Center. (Photos by Peppy, Pgh Indymedia)	Sit-in participants pass the time by dancing. (Photo by Alexis Miller)
A POG spokesperson, self-identified as Lucy Parsons, articulates POG's demands. (Photo by Alexis Miller)	CMU sophomore Daniel Papasian speaks out during the sit-in, "If making weapons that kill children is the only way to get a good job, then I wish to be unemployed." (Photo by Alexis Miller)