NEWS ADVISORY For immediate release
UBC PRESDIENT WANTS THE ARREST OF STUDENTS FOR PLAYING ROAD HOCKEY
STUDENTS VOW TO CONTINUE PLAYING AS A PROTEST AGAINST APEC LEADERS' SUMMIT
VANCOUVER, Wednesday, October 29, 1997 -- University of British Columbia (UBC) President Martha Piper wants the arrest of students who have been playing road hockey on the driveway of her official residence as a protest against APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). In comments relayed through a senior campus RCMP officer, she has also threatened academic discipline against non-violent student protesters. Despite her hardline stance, students will risk arrest and play hockey today at 2:30pm (6565 Northwest Marine Drive, Norman Mackenzie House). For the last three weeks, members of the grassroots student group called APEC ALERT have been playing road hockey at Norman Mackenzie House -- the publicly funded official residence of Martha Piper which is currently unoccupied. APEC ALERT wishes to highlight, in a fun and non-violent way, the fact that the residence will host a luncheon of 18 dictators and politicians as part of the APEC Leaders' Summit on November 25th.
"I think we need to reclaim the space that Martha Piper has given to people who have murdered students," said Adam Fraser, 25, an environmental science student at UBC who will risk arrest today to play hockey.
"I think it's important to maintain UBC as a space for students and not for dictators and politicians whose policies are clearly reprehensible," he added.
Last week's hockey game was ended by 7 RCMP and campus security officers. According to Staff-Sergeant Lloyd Plante of the campus RCMP, President Piper has instructed RCMP to arrest any and all students who may return today. (Sergeant Plante can be reached at (604) 224-1322.)
APEC ALERT members regard the RCMP and President's statements as a crude attempt at intimidation. According to Gabby Resch, 19, an international relations student, "I think that it's absolutely preposterous that the administration is thinking of arresting students who are not harming people or property."
"Road Hockey Against APEC" is just one component of APEC ALERT's fall campaign known as "REFUSE APEC." The student group has sponsored talks, debates, forums, films as well as organized several non-violent protests, one of which resulted in the arrest of two students in September, also on the orders of the UBC administration. APEC ALERT will be sponsoring a campus-wide teach-in on November 24th and a major mobilization against APEC called "Crash the Summit" on November 25th when protesters will march against the APEC Leaders' Summit which will take place at the Museum of Anthropology and Martha Piper's residence.
For more information, please contact APEC ALERT:
-- APEC ALERT -- ... grassroots action to oppose APEC at UBC ... (604) 251-9914 * alert@netinfo.ubc.ca www.cs.ubc.ca/spider/fuller/apec_alert
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