Penn well-represented at protests

Around 20 students traveled to Washington, D.C., to join in the IMF and World Bank protests. Most of the Penn campus spent last weekend partying their way through Spring Fling. But a group of about 20 students -- mostly members of Penn Students Against Sweatshops -- skipped Fling and traveled to Washington, D.C., to join the protests against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Protesters have argued that the organizations, which were meeting in D.C., are not effective in fighting global poverty. Thousands filled the streets on Sunday and Monday for the protests -- which included both a legal march and an illegal attempt to shut down the IMF -- including students from colleges and universities nationwide. "I wanted to go down to Washington to let them know that things they were doing are unacceptable," College freshman Emily Quesada said. "A lot of their policies benefit the richest nations and hurt the poorest people and the poorest nations." College senior Miriam Joffe-Block explained why protesting against the IMF was especially important for PSAS. "We feel the connections between the lending policies and their conditionalities is creating in many countries a sweatshop economy," Joffe-Block said. She also said that the national United Students Against Sweatshops organization played a major role in organizing the protest. One Penn student, College sophomore Roopa Gona, spoke publicly at the rally. In discussing the role of students in the protests, Gona said, "I wanted to stress the importance of students getting involved right now, not only for our children, but for the world we're going to inherit some day," she said. While all of the Penn students at the protest participated in the march, a few also joined other protesters in trying to illegally block IMF conference delegates from going to work. "My activist experiences in the past have shown me that direct action is really the only way to make a difference," said Quesada, who participated in the makeshift blockade. About 600 protesters were arrested for taking part in the illegal activity. But although there were numerous reports of police using pepper spray and tear gas, no Penn students were injured at the demonstration. "At the intersection the Penn kids were at, there wasn't much of a police presence," College junior Ali Blum-Ross said. Joffe-Block said she was impressed that the police officers present did not, for the most part, use excessive force. "They were pretty restrained and handled the situation pretty well," she said. "They did a fairly good job and I appreciated that." But Quesada was not as happy with the police officers' behavior. "I saw a police officer beating a girl with his night stick about a foot away from me," she said. "I saw someone trampled by a horse. I saw a puddle of blood. I saw the suspension of the Constitution for a weekend."