Capitol Steps: Filibustering against Frist

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After staging a mock filibuster outside Frist Campus Center nonstop for over two weeks, students packed up their protest May 11 and headed for the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

The event — which began April 26 with a few students and a loudspeaker — continued for 384 hours in front of the building for which the Frist family donated $25 million.

It culminated more than a hundred miles away on May 12, with politicians and national media gathered near the Capitol Reflecting Pool.

Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) joined about 50 Princeton students to filibuster against the so-called "nuclear option," a rule change proposed by Senator Bill Frist '74 that would reduce the number of votes needed to end a judicial filibuster. A deal was reached earlier this week between Senate Republicans and Democrats.

"Right now, as these students realize, the Constitution hangs in the balance," Schumer said to a group of reporters, students and onlookers.

"What America is all about — checks and balances — could be greatly harmed if the nuclear option is invoked," he said.

The filibusterers spent more than 24 straight hours on the Mall, surviving a terror scare, drawing considerable media coverage and perplexing passing tourists and runners.

The trip — which organizers called the "Fili-bus-tour" — was funded by donations received through the group's website, Filibusterfrist.com. The filibuster group has raised more than $10,000, according to the site.

Organizers are now contacting senators and asking them to oppose the "nuclear option," as well as encouraging students across the nation to start their own protests. Campus filibusters have spread to 45 locations in 25 states, according to the group's website.

The D.C. protest attracted several notable figures, including Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), who stopped by unannounced. One student also read a statement released by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that commended Princeton students for their filibuster.

Corzine joined Schumer in condemning the possible Senatorial rule change and praised Princeton students for speaking up when others have been silent.

"I want to thank all of you from Princeton and all the students who are standing up, speaking out, doing the right thing, getting into the discussion this country needs to have," Corzine said. "And if you're missing an exam or two, that's O.K., too."

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On May 11, the filibuster was temporarily relocated when a wayward Cessna headed toward the Mall put the alert level for the city at red and sent thousands of people fleeing from the Capitol.

In a matter of minutes, the sounds of police sirens filled the city and officers were telling the filibuster organizers to move further from the Capitol.

Abandoning most of their belongings, students headed west about a hundred yards down the Mall until they were allowed to return 15 minutes later.

During the relocation, as well as during the bus ride down to D.C. and all through the night, the filibuster never stopped. Whether speaking into a microphone or bullhorn, shouting or whispering, students kept the protest going just as they had done in Princeton.

In over 24 hours in front of the Capitol, the Frist filibuster caught the attention of hundreds of tourists, runners and bicyclists who stopped by to see what all the talking was about.

"Anytime college student are involved in the political process, I'm pleased to see it," Roberta Finkelstein of Arlington, Va., said.

Politicians show support

New Jersey Representatives Rush Holt and Frank Pallone also spoke at the D.C. event, in addition to participating in the Frist filibuster while it was on campus.

Ten days earlier, Holt had traveled to Princeton to read from Aesop's Fables — the same selection his father, Senator Rush Holt (D-WVa.), read to block a coal industry regulation bill in 1936.

"You might have noticed a theme from the fables: Be careful what you wish for," Holt said to a crowd of almost 200 students. "We have right now in Washington some people operating out of arrogance who think they know best, but they're tinkering with something very serious here."

The following day, Pallone, whose 10-year-old son Frank also participated by reading from "Goosebumps," called the Senate "the last bastion of consensus, deliberation and bipartisanship." If minority voices are not heard, he argued, "half the country is disenfranchised."

How it began

At first, it wasn't supposed to last more than a day or two.

"I didn't even consider the possibility of going overnight," Juan Melli-Huber GS, one of the organizers of the event, said. "The original plan was to do one or two days of 12 hours."

Those taking part in the filibuster read works ranging from Shakespeare to Seuss or used their time at the podium to sing songs and recite thousands of digits of pi.

The event attracted the attention of news organizations across the country, including The New York Times, CNN and MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews."

Some professors joined the protest — including renowned physicist Ed Witten, Nobel prizewinner Frank Wilczek and Pulitzer prizewinner Paul Muldoon.

"I think it's really important that students take an active part in political life, particularly when so many others seem to be taking no part whatsoever," Muldoon said in an interview after reading some of his poems. "I used to worry about Princeton students being slightly reserved in this matter. I don't worry about that anymore."

During their time on the lawn of Frist Campus Center, students involved with the filibuster survived inclement weather, a temporary shutdown by Public Safety for permit reasons and criticism from some campus conservatives that the protest disrespected Frist and the building his family funded.

"Most protests throughout history have tried to find symbolic locations," Asheesh Siddique '07, filibuster organizer and editor of the Princeton Progressive Review, said. "This is about a difference of policy with Senator Frist, not an attack on him. And we're trying to follow in the great American tradition of finding symbolic places to protest."