Weekly Address Democrat Speaker Supported "Student Takeover" of College Building in 1997

In response to yesterday's student takeover of the Goodell Building at the University of Massachusetts, the Amherst College Student Policy Committee voted unanimously to support the demonstration by issuing a letter of solidarity to the student protesters. The motion to support the student takeover arose at last night's monthly meeting of the SPC. Representatives from the University's African, Latino, Asian, and Native American organization (ALANA) were invited to the meeting to inform SPC members about th e ongoing student protest and give a summary of the students' demands. According to these representatives, the impetus behind the student protest was the University administration's failure to follow through on a promise to enact a similar set of proposa ls agreed upon in 1992.

"Our decision to support the student takeover is based on the fact that the UMass administration broke the promise they made five years ago," said Paul Rieckhoff, Vice President of the Student Government Organization. "We believe the violation against th e UMass students constitutes a violation against all of the students in the Five College community."

Sorry, this is my first post...don't know how to include the site.

Seems this guy is talking to all kinds of people.

He spoke to 60 Mins II back in Oct of 2003.

Lt. Paul Rieckhoff walks a narrow line in Zone 17. The night before 60 Minutes II showed up, a bomb just missed a Humvee that shook the whole compound. The Army calls them IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices.

”I think there’s a small percentage of people here who don’t want us here, but I think by in large, most of the people here, as you’ll see on this patrol, are welcoming of our presence,” says Rieckhoff.

But by the next day, kids trailed his patrol down the block. Rieckhoff’s men fixed up a stadium that was once an Iraqi army shooting range, and the community relations is paying off. The neighbors are now telling his patrols about hidden weapons and guerillas.

Rieckhoff was president of his class at Amherst College, went to Wall Street, and joined the National Guard for a challenge. He says he found it: “I don’t think the American public understands that there’s much more going on here besides IED attacks. Those are horrible and we all mourn the loss of life. But every day there’s an incredible amount of stuff going that doesn’t get reported because it’s not sensational. The fact that school supplies are delivered or there are hospitals open - that stuff is incredibly important for every member of this local community.”

What does Rieckhoff now think of the war?

“I think we’ve made incredible strides. This is the hard part. This is the road nobody has gone down before and the U.S. is breaking some new ground here,” says Rieckhoff. “It’s going to be a difficult struggle. Germany wasn’t repaired in four months. Japan wasn’t repaired in four months. It’s gonna take time to reestablish this entire government, this entire country. But i think it has enormous potential. And i think the sky’s the limit for the people of Iraq.”

Even those who despise the occupation wouldn’t think of divorcing America just now.

I'm just going to throw this out there, but it is possible that this flaming lib Rieckhoff joined with Reserves with one thing in mind: insulating himself from criticism?

I mean, it is clear to see that John F'n Kerry has used the "Vietnam war hero" rhetoric to rebutt any criticism, however legitimate the criticism might be.

Could these guy have had the specific purpose of "doing his time", just so he could throw the "Hey! Don't tell me about patriotism, I served my country. Did you?" line into anyone's face who critizes him.

Wesley Clark did the same thing during his campaign.

No saying that there can't be political stripes of all kinds in the service, but seems to me that there may have been some agenda behind Mr. Jerk...I mean Rieckhoff's service.

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