Princeton High students plan anti-Bush walkout

National World Can’t Wait protest slated for Wednesday

By: Rachel Silverman
   Around 9 a.m. Wednesday, Princeton High School could be rather quiet.
   Or, simply, bereft of students.
   A student walkout to coincide with a national World Can’t Wait movement is reportedly planned to start just before homeroom, between the second and third periods. If all goes according to the plan of organizers, students will remain outside the building until third period ends at 9:59. Some may then take the train to New York City, where they will meet other activists in Union Square.
   Wednesday’s PHS walkout is part of a nationally staged protest of the Bush administration. Held on the anniversary of President George W. Bush’s re-election, the event stands in opposition to the president’s policies on education, international relations, civil liberties and the environment. It also responds to what organizers call the corruption, fiscal irresponsibility and lack of foresight rampant throughout Washington.
   The day is organized by World Can’t Wait, a group that aims to "create a political situation where the Bush administration’s program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking U.S. society is reversed."
   According to the organization’s Web site, www.worldcantwait.org, "Nov. 2 will be a day of mass political action." The Web site predicts that peaceful protests, marches and demonstrations will take place across 185 cities and campuses Wednesday.
   "This day will embolden individuals and groups everywhere to speak up," the Web site says. "To challenge the Bushian mentality and program everywhere it pops up — from the local school boards pushing ‘intelligent design and abstinence only, to the pulpits promoting hurtful intolerance of gays and non-Christians, to the unjust war and continuing torture, and beyond."
   At PHS, protest organizers did not receive — nor did they attempt to receive — permission to hold the protest.
   In an article in the student newspaper, "The Tower," school principal Gary Snyder tried to dissuade students from participating in the event.
   "It would be my hope and expectation that students interested in discussing policies of the federal government would do so in an academic and scholarly manner provided for in our school setting in the form of academic classes, after-school clubs or at events sponsored by community organizations," Mr. Snyder is quoted as saying.