Pubdate: Thu, 19 Apr 2012
Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)
Column: Stew's Views
Copyright: 2012 Boulder Weekly
Contact:  http://www.boulderweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57
Author: Stewart Sallo
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

4/20 SMOKE-SCREEN

There are so many angles from which to contemplate the wrong that CU 
is perpetrating with respect to its tactics to end the "4/20 
smokeout" that one hardly knows where to begin.

We should be deeply troubled by the closing of the grounds of a 
public university and the manner in which this suggests the limiting 
of vital discussions of topics that an institution of higher learning 
ought to be promoting, including the politics of marijuana.

We should be equally troubled by the disingenuousness of the CU 
public relations machine, as it endeavors to obfuscate its true 
agenda - maintaining the success of its corporate-like business model 
and the flow of cash that is necessary to fulfill it - by hiding 
behind the illegality of marijuana and an insincere concern for 
"substance abuse."

We should also be troubled by the manner in which corporate media has 
offered itself up as a de facto, free of charge public relations 
vehicle for the University. For our corporately owned daily paper to 
allow CU to use its headlines to convey its scare-tactic message 
designed to thwart free speech and our right to assemble is 
disturbing. Those who profit by trumpeting the value of free speech 
for themselves have an intense obligation to protect that same right 
for others.

Refusing to be a mouthpiece for those who seek to limit the rights of 
men and women with a different point of view than those in power is a 
critical responsibility of the media at a time when the power of the 
individual is being steadily, methodically and intentionally eroded.

However, as troubling as all of that is, the greatest wrong in this 
entire scenario is the way the university is failing the students who 
have come to Boulder to learn how to take their place as the next 
generation of Americans by sending the unmistakable message that they 
should accept a passive role of conformity and submission, rather 
than one of vision, leadership and activism.

Whatever one believes about the politics of marijuana, we all must 
agree that American citizens have the inalienable right to gather and 
protest on behalf of what they believe is right - for themselves and 
for our society.

And among all of the styles of protest, that of gathering with other 
like-minded individuals in a "strength in numbers" manner to speak 
truth to power is the most important to protect, as it is within the 
safety of such a protest that citizens are truly empowered to let 
their voices be heard.

Alongside the many educational opportunities that must accompany a 
college education, becoming involved in political causes and student 
activism are an essential part of the curriculum. In that regard, the 
"4/20 smokeout" has been nothing less than a brilliant feather in the 
cap of the University of Colorado Boulder. For within the context of 
this annual tradition lies a ready-made model for CU students to 
learn how to protest what they believe to be unjust.

How many universities can boast that kind of educational opportunity?

In choosing the approach that has been so carefully strategized by 
the University and so well publicized in the Camera, both of these 
entities have shown their true colors.

Clearly, CU cares more about how its national reputation as a "party 
school" might be bad for business than it does about offering a true, 
realpolitik educational opportunity for its students.

As for the Camera, this serves as yet another example of the way in 
which corporate media is increasingly becoming just another tool in 
the toolbox of deceit being utilized by the public relations 
departments of powerful corporate and corporate-like entities.

And what of the message that this sends to CU students who have, 
ostensibly, come to Boulder to be exposed to the highest, most 
progressive and advanced version of human thought, research, 
reflection and consciousness? What do our impressionable youth - the 
ones we are counting on to solve the weighty problems with which we 
will entrust them as they take up the torch of a society that was 
created to reflect the highest set of principles in the history of 
human civilization - learn from this event?

Do they learn that we live in a society that guarantees fundamental 
rights, such as freedom of speech and the right to assemble?

Or do they learn the disillusioning and disempowering "truth" that in 
America we merely pay lip service to the freedoms that are necessary 
for student activism to continue to flourish?

Do they learn that one must stand strong for one's beliefs and fight 
against injustice in the world?

Or do they learn that taking a stand for what one believes in and 
fighting against injustice are fruitless endeavors that may result in 
receiving a citation that might hinder their ability to earn a living 
when a potential employer learns of it? Do they learn to take their 
place in history in a sacred chain of student activists that have 
fought for and achieved political, environmental, economic and social 
changes in areas ranging from racial discrimination to equal rights 
for women to injustices in the military, industrial and prison 
systems to war and peace, and countless other important causes?

Or do they learn that powerful entities inevitably win out in the 
end, and that it's better to accept things as they are than try to 
change them for the better?

We have many battles that lie ahead, including issues of the 
environment, human rights, health care, Arab- Western relations, 
immigration, labor, poverty, gay/lesbian rights, etc. Who is going to 
fight these battles in the future if we enable this unacceptable 
disenfranchising of the very young people whom we should be 
encouraging to take on the lofty goal of furthering the cause of 
human civilization and improving the human experience?

This is not about whether marijuana should be legalized.

Rather, it is about whether we wish to empower the next generation of 
Americans to believe that change is possible or discourage their 
involvement with the notion of activism.

It is about whether we will allow the de facto corporation known as 
the University of Colorado to rob the Boulder community of its rights 
and send a dangerous message to CU students, far more dangerous than 
whether an innocuous drug called marijuana is smoked on campus or 
even whether donations to CU decrease because of its reputation as a 
"party school."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom