‘Frist Filibuster’ hits the road

Princeton University students continue effort at Mall in Washington.

By: David Campbell
   Students participating in the mock "Frist Filibuster" at Princeton University took their loquacious protest on the road this week to the Mall in Washington.
   The mock filibuster started April 26 and ran nonstop on the north lawn outside Princeton’s Frist Campus Center for more than 350 hours.
   But this week, students boarded a bus and took their running monologue to the nation’s capital, arriving Wednesday morning and continued filibustering through Thursday within sight of Republican Senate Majority Leader — and 1974 Princeton graduate — William Frist’s office.
   Students from Georgetown University and other schools joined those from Princeton in taking turns speaking. Other protests have been organized at Harvard, Yale, Stanford and elsewhere in the past few weeks, but Princeton’s has been the longest-running.
   Princeton filibusterers have been signing up for speaking slots and have been allowed to read or say anything they want in their allotted time, and it needn’t be political in nature.
   Participants have reportedly recited from works ranging from the Declaration of Independence to the plays of Shakespeare to the first 3,000 digits of pi.
   On Thursday, a news conference and rally was held near the reflecting pool on the Mall at which Democratic Sen. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-12) spoke in support.
   The students are showing their support for the filibuster, the practice of speaking for extended periods of time to stall pending legislation. Both Democrats and Republicans have used the technique in the Senate to slow or block measures they opposed.
   But Sen. Frist has threatened to use the "nuclear option," reducing the number of votes needed to stop a filibuster if Democrats use the tactic to try to block President Bush’s judicial nominees. The mock filibuster began two weeks ago in front of the Frist Campus Center, which was constructed with a $25 million gift from Sen. Frist’s family.
   The Princeton protest and its organizers have received coverage from national media outlets including CNN, Fox News and ABC News, organizers said. A photo appeared in Thursday’s New York Times. They even have a Web site — FilibusterFrist.com — that has featured a live Webcam of the ongoing filibuster and advice for starting similar protests on other campuses.
   "We’re incredibly excited to be here," said organizer Cathy Kunkel, a Princeton junior and physics major. "We feel that this protest has been enormously successful in raising awareness and showing that students really care about the future of our democracy."