Citizens to Protest Bush at Yale Commencement

Contact: Jon Bexell
212.375.0052
jon@legitgov.org

May 21st, 2001 – New Haven, CT

Groups heralding from a broad spectrum of issues will be protesting at Yale’s official honoring of George W. Bush.

Many Yale students, New Yorker’s, Bostonians, people from New Jersey to Rhode Island, will be coming together to protest George W. Bush on Monday, May 21st, based on a variety of issues ranging from Choice and Women’s Rights to Globalization, the Budget, Equal Rights, and Voting Rights.

“He’s attacked Women’s reproductive rights, he’s attacked the environment, he’s attacked civil rights by openly supporting the Cincinnati police - and most people in this country think he cares more about corporations than us.”  Said Jon Bexell, lead organizer for this event.  “The sad fact is, we’re not being represented in the White House and right now we find protesting the only means with which to communicate our message.  And I mean ‘we’ as in the people of this country.”

With recent news from the joint Miami Herald/USA Today count of the 2000 Elections in Florida strongly favoring Gore as the actual winner (”Who does it appear most voters intended to vote for?  Answer: Gore” -USA Today –  it appears that this protest will be larger than similar events elsewhere, with many Democrats and Greens infused with recurring anger over the Election 2000 debacle and it’s result.

Many of the protesters that are coming in from cities across the East Coast, including buses from Boston, Metro North riders from New York and even people taking Amtrak from Rhode Island, will initially meet at the New Haven Metro North Station at approximately 10:00AM and from there go to the Old Campus where ceremonies will be held.  Ceremonies begin at 10:30AM.

This event is a planned peaceful protest against the Bush Administrations policies that across the board have been to America’s dissatisfaction.  Including his choice on the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade to cancel federal funding to groups educating safe abortion procedures, his ending the practice of the ABA to review selected judicial nominee’s before nominating his first slate of appointments, his foreign policy positions on China, his support for the Cincinnati police, his administrations recent threats against people living near the flooding Mississippi and a wide range of other issues, to detailed to mention here.

For more detailed information about this event, our goals and issues, or more information about the organizer, please contact Jon Bexell at 212.375.0052 (jon@legitgov.org).  Bexell is the main organizer for this demonstration and is actively involved in a number of groups supporting various issues, however this particular action is not affiliated with any one group.