By: Tatum Hunter
Eight Xavier students, accompanied by Dr. Irene Hodgson, travelled to Ft. Benning, Ga., to attend a three-day demonstration at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC).
The event was held on Nov. 22 in protest of WHINSEC, formerly known as School of the Americas (SOA), an American-run military training school for Latin American soldiers. Graduates of the school have been responsible for a series of human rights violations, including the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980, the massacre of the entire village of El Mozote in 1981 and the assassination of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in 1989.
WHINSEC’s website describes the institution as “one tool supporting U.S. policy in the region with its primary focus on enhancing security force capacity to meet issues and doing so in a legal, moral (and) ethical context.”
Although WHINSEC claims that it altered its curriculum in recent years to include human rights instruction, many critics want the school to be permanently shut down to acknowledge the crimes attributed to graduates and to rehabilitate the United States’ image throughout Latin America.
The annual protest, sponsored by the organization SOA Watch, drew thousands of demonstrators to Ft. Benning. The Xavier students in attendance were able to see performances, hear speeches and learn about the cause.
They also took time to remember the victims of violence in Latin America and celebrate the resistance movement’s successes, such as the removal of torture techniques from the school’s training. Each student had to complete a non-violence training course before attending the protest.
“I’ve been to El Salvador, and I’ve seen the gravesites of Oscar Romero, the six Jesuits, the churchwomen and the people of El Mozote,” Rachel Piepsney, one of the eight students who participated, said. “To see those things and not speak up and stand in resistance would be a great dishonor to the people who helped me learn and to myself. It’s just a sign of respect for all the people I encountered there. It’s a continuation of what I’ve learned.”
Junior philosophy major and Newswire Op-Ed Editor Taylor Fulkerson has participated in the protest three times and helped organize Xavier’s involvement this year.
“I’d like to see more active participation from the Xavier community,” Fulkerson said. “Thinking especially of the six Jesuit priests in El Salvador, I think that this should be considered part of our history as a Jesuit institution. These (martyrs) are people we should look to as role models.”
Fulkerson believes participating in the protest will affect students’ lives, even after they return home.
“It’s empowering to recognize that America isn’t perfect,” Fulkerson said. “The protest isn’t just about being there. It’s about coming back and having those tough conversations.”