Holy Cross Students Travel to Washington D.C. to Protest for Social Justice

Sixteen Holy Cross students joined thousands of students from Jesuit institutions across the country in Washington D.C. for the annual Ignatian Family Teach-in (IFT) on the weekend of Nov. 13- 15, to protest the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as School of the Americas (SOA).

Sponsored by the Ignatian Solidarity Network, this was the first year the protest was held in Washington, D.C.  Previously, since 1995, Jesuits, former Jesuits, lay pastoral leaders, and the broader Ignatian family had gathered at the gates of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Fort Benning to call for the closure of the institute and to commemorate the deaths of the Salvadoran Jesuit martyrs, their housekeeper and her daughter, the four churchwomen, and the many other men, women, and children who have been innocent victims of civil war and bloodshed.

The annual event also featured an advocacy day, when representatives from the Jesuit schools visited their respective U.S. Representatives and Senators.  Holy Cross collaborated with Boston College, Boston College High School, and Boston College School of Theology and advocated three social justice issues: the closing of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, the DREAM Act (a bill that would provide illegal alien students who graduate from U.S. high schools the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four-year institution of higher learning), and support for a climate change policy.  Holy Cross students met with Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown and Representatives Mike Capuano (8th District), Barney Frank (4th District), and Jim McGovern (3rd District).  The group met with staff members from Sen. Brown, Sen. Kerry, and Rep. Capuano’s office, and met personally met with Rep. McGovern and Frank.

“The IFT was great because I was able to see over 1,200 other like-minded students come together and not only protest, but also  meet with government officials and simply voice our opinions in a formal setting,” says Matt King ’14.  “It was also a time where I, just a Holy Cross student, could be a voice for positive change on a national level.”

Gordon Wong ’11 recounts: “For a long time I thought that my vote didn't really count for anything.  But having gone down to D.C. and meeting with elected officials from Massachusetts, I now know how important it is not only to vote, but also to be an active member of society. What I learned from this experience is that our officials want to hear from us.  It’s moving to see a room full of young voices making requests from a politician or their staff person.  The experience reminded me that people still have power.”

The Holy Cross students who participated are all members of Pax Christi, a local chapter of a national organization called Pax Christi USA, which calls for the nonviolent solutions to armed conflicts.