Protests

Spring 2021

Circles

Almost a year has passed since the pandemic stalked its way around the globe. It’s astounding to me how so much could get turned around and topsy-turvy so quickly. Across the country and Washington state, though, we’ve witnessed people persevere in the face of tragedy and hardship, finding hope and sharing comfort.

It’s a struggle everywhere. We spoke to Cougars around the world about their pandemic experiences, from Nikola Koprivica (’10 Intl. Busi.) in Serbia to Nicola Perera (’15 MA English) in Sri Lanka, and many countries in between. Their stories reflect our own in the United States, and it comes back to adapting … » More …

2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Oregon - Photo Nathan Howard

Spring 2021

Reporting the protests

Washington State University journalism alumni braved the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Los Angeles, and other cities to get the story and the heart of the matter. » More ...

Winter 2018

Backwater Sunday: A personal memory

The weather was freezing at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation when the Dakota Access Pipeline protests turned violent on November 20, 2016. Native Americans opposed the 1,200-mile oil pipeline on the grounds that it violated the rights of the tribe and passed through Lake Oahe, a sacred burial site and major source of drinking water. This fall marks the second anniversary of the bloody incident, which is remembered as Backwater Sunday.

“Look out!” someone shouts as fiery tear gas canisters streak through the midnight sky. The cell phone video careens sharply as images of smoke and military vehicles come into view. In the darkness, … » More …

Summer 2018

Protest on Trial: The Seattle 7 Conspiracy

Kit Bakke

WSU Press: 2018

It’s December 1970, and surprise witness Horace “Red” Parker is mumbling his way through his testimony. The prosecutor has to keep telling the self-made activist infiltrator to speak up. The defense attorney keeps objecting to Parker’s constant inferrals of what the defendants must have been thinking as they organized the anti-Vietnam War protest they’re on trial for. Which, as Kit Bakke points out, is ironic, because … » More …