Karina Garcia

In commemorating the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Columbia student revolt, there are three dangers. One is to use the occasion as simply an opportunity for empty nostalgia, self-reflection, or in the case of many ex-radicals, self-criticism. The second danger is to forget that the students won their demands. The third danger is to approach it as an event that belongs exclusively to the University, as if the chemicals that caused the combustion were organic to this campus alone.

The Oct. 4 protest at Columbia University against Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist revealed a dangerous reality in American politics. A substantial sector of the conservative political establishment and media has chosen to stand openly with an armed vigilante group that has well-documented links to far-right, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist groups.

In the aftermath of the protest on the night of Oct. 4 against Jim Gilchrist and the racist Minutemen at Roone Arledge Auditorium, we want to state clearly: we are proud to send the message to the country that racist and fascist groups are not welcome at Columbia or in New York City.