Junior international studies and Russian major John McMahon was the driving force behind last week’s “Change the Status Quo” event intended to foster dialogue about Iraq.
Held April 24–25, the event featured a “tent city teach-in.” Thirteen tents were set up in front of Sturm Hall on the Driscoll lawn April 24, but faced with cold and wind, about half of the tent city residents left during the night.
Despite the low attendance, McMahon says it was “a really meaningful event.” About 20 people participated in a peace march down University Boulevard to Evans Avenue several blocks to Observatory Park and back to DU on April 25. That event was “the most polarized,” McMahon says.
Otherwise, the event was designed to include all voices, whether for or against the war.
“We’re not advocating for any specific action or politician,” McMahon says. “We want to hear from as many different perspectives as possible.”
The event included workshops on such topics as peace, refugees and The Patriot Act. The “teach-in” wasn’t like those of the 1960s-era where buildings were appropriated to make a point. McMahon and 15 other student organizers wanted people to come and go as they wished and to offer a less confrontational dialogue.