Cameron Sissel

Red Square Protests Proposal

Tim is walking through his favorite park on a bright and sunny day. He makes this
walk every day to receive his daily dose of peace and quiet. Instead of peace and
quiet, today, Tim is rudely interrupted by multiple protestors screaming right in his
face. They urge Tim to sign petitions and to join them in the fight against
something that he knows very little to nothing about. This is not what he expected
on his usual, peaceful walk through the park. If only there was a way that he could
avoid these types of obstacles that disrupted him from his daily, peaceful routine.
The Pain of Protestors
Now imagine that you are a student at Western Washington University, walking
through Red Square, a relatively quiet environment where students can go to do just
about whatever they please. Just like Tim in the park, these students go to Red
Square to find peace. The square offers something that is very unique, it is
essentially a blank sheet of paper. The students that travel to Red Square go
there to create their own, as Paul Heilker described it in On Genres of Ways of
Being, genre or personality. They look to Red Square as an escape from other
people such as peers, teachers, and friends affecting their genre. Ever since I
started attending Western Washington University I have realized that there has
been a reoccurring issue regarding students trying to find peace in the Square. This
controversial issue is protesting.
Protestors affect the students atmosphere and comfortability while in the Square.
There are many different ways that the protests bother students. They yell things
that dont need to be or dont want to be heard, such as religious beliefs, political
beliefs, profanity, or educational beliefs. Not only do they bother students but they
bother the other buildings and classrooms surrounding the Square. In On Genres
of Ways of Being, Paul Heilker talks about how everyone has a way of being, and
that everyones way of being can be easily influenced by another person or event.
I believe that protests directly affect peoples way of being. Students go into Red
Square to make their own genre and to get away from being told how to be. The
last thing they want is to have people yelling in their ear and signs being put in their
face.
I asked a student that walks through the Square every day, what he thought about
protestors. His response was this, I believe that they are a huge nuisance to the
University. They may think that they are being influential or inspiring but I believe
that they annoy people more than anything and they are not needed. When I
asked him what he thought should be done about the protestors he suggested
getting rid of them all together. He went on to say that students come into Red
Square to talk, work or relax, not to be yelled at about things we dont really care
about.
Not only is this protesting problem in the square, there are multiple protests taking
place all around campus. The reason that I am focusing on Red Square is because
protestors see the Square as the most influential area on campus to display their

beliefs. In a survey that I conducted with 20 students within the square based off
the question, Do you think that protests should be allowed on campus, 90% of the
students said no, they should not be allowed on campus.
The Solution
My solution is fairly simple, but is also a little bit complex at the same time. To
minimize students unhappiness and feeling of being uncomfortable, there should
be a restraint as to what days there can be protests, what time of day there can be
protests, and where there can be protests. Now the reason that my solution was
not to remove protests as a whole from the University is because I realize what the
administration most likely thinks about these protests. I realize that some people
may see these protests as influential, inspiring, and impactful on a college campus.
I realize that people may think that these protests are needed to help us students
open up our minds about controversial topics in the outside world. Believe me
when I say this, we dont need the protestors help to stay updated or gain an
opinion about these topics. This is a millennial generation, a generation where
students can pull out their phones or laptops and learn more about these protesting
topics than the protestors themselves can tell us in 5 minutes.
Although I believe that there are far more people in the world and on Western
Washingtons campus that are bothered by these protests, I am also aware that
there are those few people that are inspired. This is another reason that my
solution was not to abolish protesting as a whole. For those people that are inspired
by the protests, they can go and take part in them or listen to them at the locations
and times that they are allowed.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Some of the roadblocks that I have foreseen include: 1) the protestors could hold
the arguments that they have the right to the first amendment. 2) There could
possibly be some retaliation from the students who actually enjoy the protests. My
answers to these roadblocks are simple. Although the protestors believe that we
would be taking away their first amendment right, we could not be. In actuality,
they would still be able to speak freely and express their opinions and beliefs, we
would just be limiting when and where they do this on campus. With regards to the
possible retaliation from students who enjoy the protests, they would still be able to
go and take part in the protests, just at a different location and time period.
The benefits of these constraints on protesting would include: 1) allow students to
get the peace they want in Red Square. 2) Not have students feel uncomfortable
and disturbed while at Western Washington University. 3) Allow students to create
their own genre in Red Square. 4) Allow surrounding classes and buildings to be
less bothered. As you can see, the benefits of these constraints heavily outweigh
the costs. I dont see any major conflict as to why the University should not make
this change.
A More Comfortable Atmosphere

I believe that this change will make Western Washingtons campus atmosphere a lot
more comfortable and welcoming. And for you people who still dont see how this is
a positive change, think back to the story of Tim, walking through the park looking
for his daily dose of peace, trying to create his own genre. If there was a
constraint on the protestors in the park, then Tim would have known when he would
have been able to go to the park without being disturbed. If Tims outlook on
protests changed, and he suddenly became inspired, then he could simply look up
when the protests would be available, and attend them. People are always going to
want to express their opinions and beliefs, especially at places where they know
they will be heard by a massive body of people such as Western Washington
University. My solution to the protesting problem is not to get rid of the expression
of these opinions and beliefs, my solution is to make it less of a disturbance.