Five years after lighting herself on fire in front of close to 75 people, controversial activist Kathy Change was memorialized in a public ceremony by the peace sign on College Green where she made her final protest.
Yesterday, speakers from the Friends of Change organization pledged continued support for her cause -- sharing stories and songs and calling for a peaceful resolution to the war on terrorism. Onlookers reacted with a mix of emotions.
At the open-mike gathering, Change's friends said the current situation exemplifies the type of government action she opposed.
"In some ways, her death was a precursor to this," said Anita King, an artist and close friend of Change's. "These were the sort of events she had predicted. She would be panic-stricken now."
For 18 years, up until her death in 1996, Change was known on campus for her unconventional dancing, costumes and poetry -- aimed at shocking students into acknowledging government corruption. She championed such causes as the legalization of marijuana, nuclear disarmament and cooperative living.
In her final words, she wrote that her self-immolation would finally draw attention to her efforts, which she did not "see as being successful in any way." Change had a history of suicide attempts, dating back to when she found her mother, a writer, dead in her room.
But yesterday's memorial drew some criticism.
"It's almost a parody of a genuine movement," said College freshman Ben Piven.
Other audience members voiced concern that the memorial glorified the person rather than the overall cause.
Matthew Snyder, a Law School employee who was at Penn when Change was active, said "most people ignored her but she had a network of supporters, a lot of whom had a hard time dealing with her death." He said that its violent nature estranged many of her supporters.
The memorial also included groups unaffiliated with Friends of Change. Karen Moldovan spoke on behalf of School of the Americas Watch, a group with similar interests in monitoring government human rights violations.
"Now is the time to come together," Moldovan said. "No more U.S. taxpayer money should go to training terrorists."
Change, born Kathy Chang to a family of accomplished academics, took the name Change when she began protesting for "change" against "war mongering, deceitful, corrupt, authoritarian, human rights abusing bureaucrats" of the United States government, according to a letter she once wrote to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
