Monday, March 14, 2005
It's time for someone to step down
For those that I haven't mentioned this to yet:
Hoax rally riles activists on both side of political fence
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By WENDY WEINHOLD
Anderson Independent-Mail
March 12, 2005
CLEMSON — An event billed as an anti-war rally on Clemson University’s Bowman Field Saturday turned out to be a hoax that left activists on both sides of the political fence shaken.
The 2 p.m. rally was organized by Clemson student Andrew R. Davis, who is the editor-in-chief of The Tiger Town Observer, a monthly student publication that advertises itself as "Clemson’s conservative journal of news and opinion," according to Mr. Davis.
But fliers bearing an American flag with a swastika emblem that Mr. Davis said he posted several weeks ago on Clemson’s campus, along with a news release he distributed to Upstate media outlets, including the Anderson Independent-Mail, said the rally’s sponsor was Clemson Liberals Against War, or "C.L.A.W." Mr. Davis said he chose the alias, "Dr. Claw," as a reference to the Inspector Gadget cartoon character villain and terrorist leader.
A small group of supporters, who did not know the rally was a ruse orchestrated by the self-described political journalist gathered on the field for the rally. Among them was 59-year-old Pendleton resident Joan Shier.
"I thought it was a real peace rally," Mrs. Shier said. "We went out in support of world peace. We weren’t saying we don’t support the troops, we were saying we want to bring them home."
She said she was put on guard when Mr. Davis arrived carrying a hand-made poster inscribed with the words, "abortion isn’t murder, war is." Mr. Davis wore a black mask over his face until the end of the rally when a crowd member called out his name, at which point Mrs. Shier said he pulled off the mask and began to grin.
Also on hand for the rally were more than a dozen members of Clemson’s College Republicans, including the group’s chair, Robert "Bob" Frisina, 22, of Columbia.
"It made all of us look like fools that took this seriously," Mr. Frisina said. "We don’t condone his actions at all. It hurts our credibility as a group."
Mr. Frisina said the College Republicans had approached the protest as an opportunity to show their support for the war and President George W. Bush. Several local, state and federal elected representatives were invited to attend but had scheduling conflicts, and the group had planned to take donations for a disabled veterans group.
"I wanted to pull him aside and say, ‘What are you doing? This is not what I call respectable journalism or respectable politicking,’" Mr. Frisina said. "Apathy is a problem for our generation, and for this to be a giant practical joke offended me."
When contacted last week by an Independent-Mail reporter to verify the accuracy of the group, Mr. Davis said he used the alias, "John Smith."
When reached for comment Saturday night, Mr. Davis said his publication had paid $100 to secure Bowman Field for the rally and had been approved to use the alias when contacted by university police.
Efforts to reach Clemson University officials for comment were unsuccessful Saturday.
At first Mr. Davis denied that his tactics had been deceptive but later conceded that he "could see where it might be misleading."
He said he had no regrets for organizing the rally that was meant to "mock the liberal position" against war and rouse the campus from apathy.
"The main goal was to get the campus active again," Mr. Davis said. "When you have apathy on campus, it’s boring, it’s not fun. There’s no discourse. There’s nothing, people don’t care."
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After writing an e-mail to the lady in charge of student media concerning all of this, I was contacted by WSBF. They want me to write an editorial with one of their own who went to the rally and submit it to The Tiger. I plan to do so.
Hoax rally riles activists on both side of political fence
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By WENDY WEINHOLD
Anderson Independent-Mail
March 12, 2005
CLEMSON — An event billed as an anti-war rally on Clemson University’s Bowman Field Saturday turned out to be a hoax that left activists on both sides of the political fence shaken.
The 2 p.m. rally was organized by Clemson student Andrew R. Davis, who is the editor-in-chief of The Tiger Town Observer, a monthly student publication that advertises itself as "Clemson’s conservative journal of news and opinion," according to Mr. Davis.
But fliers bearing an American flag with a swastika emblem that Mr. Davis said he posted several weeks ago on Clemson’s campus, along with a news release he distributed to Upstate media outlets, including the Anderson Independent-Mail, said the rally’s sponsor was Clemson Liberals Against War, or "C.L.A.W." Mr. Davis said he chose the alias, "Dr. Claw," as a reference to the Inspector Gadget cartoon character villain and terrorist leader.
A small group of supporters, who did not know the rally was a ruse orchestrated by the self-described political journalist gathered on the field for the rally. Among them was 59-year-old Pendleton resident Joan Shier.
"I thought it was a real peace rally," Mrs. Shier said. "We went out in support of world peace. We weren’t saying we don’t support the troops, we were saying we want to bring them home."
She said she was put on guard when Mr. Davis arrived carrying a hand-made poster inscribed with the words, "abortion isn’t murder, war is." Mr. Davis wore a black mask over his face until the end of the rally when a crowd member called out his name, at which point Mrs. Shier said he pulled off the mask and began to grin.
Also on hand for the rally were more than a dozen members of Clemson’s College Republicans, including the group’s chair, Robert "Bob" Frisina, 22, of Columbia.
"It made all of us look like fools that took this seriously," Mr. Frisina said. "We don’t condone his actions at all. It hurts our credibility as a group."
Mr. Frisina said the College Republicans had approached the protest as an opportunity to show their support for the war and President George W. Bush. Several local, state and federal elected representatives were invited to attend but had scheduling conflicts, and the group had planned to take donations for a disabled veterans group.
"I wanted to pull him aside and say, ‘What are you doing? This is not what I call respectable journalism or respectable politicking,’" Mr. Frisina said. "Apathy is a problem for our generation, and for this to be a giant practical joke offended me."
When contacted last week by an Independent-Mail reporter to verify the accuracy of the group, Mr. Davis said he used the alias, "John Smith."
When reached for comment Saturday night, Mr. Davis said his publication had paid $100 to secure Bowman Field for the rally and had been approved to use the alias when contacted by university police.
Efforts to reach Clemson University officials for comment were unsuccessful Saturday.
At first Mr. Davis denied that his tactics had been deceptive but later conceded that he "could see where it might be misleading."
He said he had no regrets for organizing the rally that was meant to "mock the liberal position" against war and rouse the campus from apathy.
"The main goal was to get the campus active again," Mr. Davis said. "When you have apathy on campus, it’s boring, it’s not fun. There’s no discourse. There’s nothing, people don’t care."
------------------------------------------------
After writing an e-mail to the lady in charge of student media concerning all of this, I was contacted by WSBF. They want me to write an editorial with one of their own who went to the rally and submit it to The Tiger. I plan to do so.
