COLUMNIST MISREPRESENTS NATURE OF CONFERENCE, PROTEST

To the Editor:

In his column, Matt Continetti makes several factual errors and
misrepresentations about the nature and intent of the Students for
Global Justice, the conference we are organizing this week, and the
movement of which we are a part ("A School for Scandal," Jan. 28,
2002).

Continetti is correct in his assertions that recent protests against
the institutions of global capital have been marred by
violence. However, he misrepresents the source of this violence. In
every instance, it has been the police, not any protesters, who have
initiated violence. This summer, a demonstrator in Genoa, Italy was
shot and killed by police forces that were allegedly bringing order to
the scene. Non-violent protestors who sit in streets have been gassed,
pepper-sprayed, and beaten by heavily armored police.

Further, absolutely no protests are planned for the Columbia
campus. Columbia is not the target; the target is the World Economic
Forum and its plans to "rebuild" New York to benefit the wealthy.

And, though it is a minor point, Students for Global Justice is
organized as a collective, not a hierarchical body; I am not its
spokesperson.

Michael Castleman, SEAS '03

Jan. 28, 2002

The author is a member of Students for Global Justice.