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Cornell Students Decry Columbus Day
Copyright © 2003 by The Cornell Daily Sun, Inc. ^ | 10/10/03 | By CASEY HOLMES

Posted on 10/10/2003 4:58:47 AM PDT by Behind Liberal Lines

ITHACA--Students, faculty and staff gathered at noon yesterday on Ho Plaza in a rally against the celebration of Columbus Day this Monday.

Native American Students at Cornell was the main organizer of the rally. The group had the support of other organizations on campus: the American Indian Program, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), the Akwe:kon program house and the Latino Living Center. These groups supported the rally because they feel that the image of Columbus as a hero is a Native American concern as well as a Latino and an African-American issue.

"The indigenous people are near extinction," said Victoria R. Lopez, residence hall director of the LLC.

Another grievance of NASAC is that Columbus Day occurs during fall break each year. The treasurer of NASAC, Anpao Duta Flying Earth '04, said he doesn't feel that Columbus Day warrants the acknowledgment of a vacation.

Participants of the rally handed out flyers to passersby in front of the Straight. The flyers stated the crimes of Christopher Columbus to be the murder of more than 12 million Indians, the kidnapping and illegal transportation of African people and the depopulation of thirty Caribbean islands.

Four speeches were also given at the rally, focusing on the encouragement of open debate and increasing knowledge about issues not taught in American schools.

Professor Speaks

The first speaker was Prof. Lloyd Elm, American Indian studies. He said that "traditional American schools sanitize information." When important information is left out of lessons, he said, students are left with the impression that "the human history of this great, great, country began in 1492."

He praised Cornell for offering more diverse and culturally representative courses and said that "everyone deserves to have their history taught at Cornell." Through these courses, "young people are gaining the gifts of multiple perspectives," he added.

Jason Corwin '02, the media assistant at Cornell's film program, was the second speaker. He presented Native Americans' grievances against Columbus Day as allowing stereotypes to continue and the full implications of the genocide of indigenous people to go unacknowledged.

Corwin said that "without taking a look at our human history, genocide could happen again." He then went on to recommend two books that gave what he said are more diverse and accurate perceptions of history: A People's History of the United States: 1942-Present by Howard Zinn and A Little Matter of Genocide by Ward Churchill.

Corwin continued to stress the importance of debate -- and, he said, the lack thereof -- at Cornell. In the spring of 2002, Corwin said he went to the Cornell Review, which supports Columbus Day, to invite representatives to a formal debate. They agreed and decided on which issues of Western civilization were to be brought up at the debate. The Cornell Review pulled out with no clear reason, according to Corwin, and the debate never took place. Corwin states that without open arguments, people cannot "reflect on what [they] have been taught and seek out other information."

Currently, Anpao plans to create a Cornell-sponsored genocide panel or conference. Through this panel, he said, serious discussions can be fostered about the implications of genocides, such as those found in America, Rwanda and Germany.

Philip Fiadino, a Catholic chaplain at the University, did not initially know that the event was taking place. However, as he passed by the rally he felt the motivation to speak. He talked about his experience of bringing students from elite Catholic schools to Native American reservations. These students, he said, were shocked at seeing such despair, including poverty and alcoholism, on the reservations. He went on to say that just listening to these problems was not enough.

The final speaker was Sam Strong '07. He read a passage from Zinn's book, which reflected a Native American's perspective of the European conquest of the Americas. The rally closed with a performance by the White Pine Singers.

A sign at the rally suggested the creation of an Americas' Day, stating that "the Native Americans will support America so long as America does not just forget them."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; US: New York
KEYWORDS: academialist; cityofevil; columbusday; cornell; demagogicparty; ithaca; memebuilding; nativeamerican; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills
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To: foyen
Columbus did not do anything directly to the natives that the natives weren't already doing to themselves. The Incas would sacrifice 20,000 people in a single day by cutting our their hearts.

That's not justification. We in the U.S. execute a bit under a hundred criminals every year, but we'd be pretty mad if the French came over and decided to execute a hundred more for their reasons.

Read my other post exonerating Colombus before going off on me.

Damn, so many different ways of spelling his name. Okay, okay Columbus.

41 posted on 10/10/2003 8:38:48 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: foyen
That's right. That's a history they don't want to deal with. In a book I once read, The Light and the Glory, by Peter Marshall (son of the pastor), he claims that the Holy Spirit told Columbus to come to America (I think that's how it went) and that he was guided by God to come to this great nation. His motives were pure at the beginning. I don't know what, if anything, happened later but the man was a devout Christian and doing what God told him to do. That's why he could come across the oceans with three small ships. It was a mission, of sorts (our first missionary?). Interesting book on the Christian roots of our nation.
42 posted on 10/10/2003 9:06:08 AM PDT by Marysecretary (GOD is still in control!)
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To: TonyRo76
I was here during that time, too. I had the nerve to put on a poster for the people and events we were having at that time, "Celebration!" I was crucified upside down by my boss for saying that. To me it WAS a celebration. To the little brats and some of their professors here, it definitely was not. PC! Phewie.
43 posted on 10/10/2003 9:08:04 AM PDT by Marysecretary (GOD is still in control!)
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To: ZULU
Good post, Zulu! Thanks.
44 posted on 10/10/2003 9:10:22 AM PDT by Marysecretary (GOD is still in control!)
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To: Fishrrman
Hey ,I say he who is left standing in the rubble gets to make up the rules, buildthe building adn palnt the crops. Survival of the fittest and all of that. It is just human nature, I have no problem with it.
45 posted on 10/10/2003 10:06:18 AM PDT by Diva Betsy Ross ((were it not for the brave, there would be no land of the free -))
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To: TRY ONE
"Take an Indian to lunch, this week. Show him we're a regular bunch, this week."

Took your advise, now I smell like curry.
46 posted on 10/10/2003 1:34:21 PM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (NY do you know where Senator Hillary is today?)
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To: Black Agnes; rmlew; cardinal4; LiteKeeper; Lizard_King; Sir_Ed; TLBSHOW; BigRedQuark; yendu bwam; ..
Business as usual at Cornell...

*****

Leftism on Campus ping!

If you would like to be added to the Leftism on Campus ping list, please
notify me via FReep-mail.

Warning: During the school year in particular, this can be a high volume ping list.

Regards...
47 posted on 10/10/2003 7:52:34 PM PDT by Hobsonphile (Art should celebrate God's creation. Writers should love humanity in all its forms.)
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To: Fishrrman
Oh, yeah, I remember you.....


So what do you think of Gov. Bustamante?
48 posted on 10/10/2003 10:23:30 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: Kenton
This reminds me of the very sincere little college girl who chastized me for being a hunter, telling me "people like you are the reason that deer are nearly extinct!"

Funny! But no liberal is that stupid...

49 posted on 10/10/2003 10:27:38 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: StarFan; Dutchy; alisasny; BobFromNJ; BUNNY2003; Cacique; Clemenza; Coleus; DKNY; Doctor Raoul; ...
ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

50 posted on 10/10/2003 10:31:53 PM PDT by nutmeg (Rush Limbaugh: The Voice of Sanity during 8 years of the Clinton Reign of Terror)
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To: green iguana
Shell can't touch obsidian, though.
51 posted on 10/10/2003 10:35:29 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: ZULU
They may despise Columbus and everything resulted from his voyages, but don't you DARE call them unpatriotic!!!
52 posted on 10/10/2003 10:39:49 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
As a student at the University of Michigan I see quite a bit of anti-Columbus postings all over campus such as Columbus=murderer and Columbus=genocide.
53 posted on 10/10/2003 10:43:16 PM PDT by ConservativeTeen
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To: antiRepublicrat
Welcome to Free Republic!

For example, they were given medallions with expiration dates. Renewal was done by bringing gold or other riches to his people, while being found with an out-of-date one would get you tortured and/or killed.

Haven't heard that one. What's the source?

54 posted on 10/10/2003 10:48:37 PM PDT by stands2reason
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
Your either with us or against us!

I do believe we have some groups
against us my dear friends.

To honor the celebration of Columbus Day,
I give you Salvador Dali and his
Christopher Columbus'
Discovery of America 1959


55 posted on 10/10/2003 11:32:15 PM PDT by Major_Risktaker (Relax; 100 years from now no one will remember you were here!)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
"The indigenous people are near extinction..."

Which just means there's more gambling casino revenue to go around.


56 posted on 10/11/2003 1:17:06 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: Behind Liberal Lines
"The indigenous people are near extinction,"

I was under the impression that anthropologists agreed that man originated in Africa, and migrated from there throughout the world, including North and South America. If this is true, then there can be no indigenous people anywhere except Africa. Anywhere else, everyone is an immigrant, or a descendent of an immigrant.

57 posted on 10/11/2003 1:44:12 AM PDT by Fresh Wind
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To: stands2reason
Or as I once said about Leftists:

There are only two things they hate about America:

Everything we stand for; and
Everything we do!

58 posted on 10/11/2003 1:54:54 PM PDT by MikalM
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To: stands2reason
In a college class long ago with a quite conservative history teacher. He had a habit of showing us the cool side, and the dirty underside, of history.
59 posted on 10/11/2003 2:12:06 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: stands2reason
Funny! But no liberal is that stupid...

LOL... well, in her defense, I don't suspect she was any more liberal than most 18 year olds. This was my niece; and yeah, it's a true.

Not only that, her older brother (who just graduated from college this past fall) amazed and astounded the whole family at a wedding in San Antonio, Texas recently when he asked what the Alamo was...

And these are smart kids. They're just getting taught crap.

60 posted on 10/13/2003 4:51:29 AM PDT by Kenton
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