bamn

[Christine Petersen]

To new undergraduates with an interest in the affirmative action issue
(probably at least 50% support it), BAMN can seen pretty innocent at their
small table on Sproul. There isn't that much popular wisdom about BAMN
from 4 years ago being passed on from student to student because that's
not what people really talk about in conversation. When I brought up the
story to some friends, only a few knew the background. I mentioned to
another housemate from southern California who is a junior in polisci that
Chris was writing this story, her response was "omigawd, Chris is against
affirmative action?".  So she and her classmates probably don't know the
history of bamn at all. 

   A couple weeks ago there was a big BAMN led rally on Sproul plaza
(partially led by the teacher mentioned in the story running for school
board, and she brought about 130 students along without any other
chaperones).  I had forgotten it was going to happen until someone in
Seattle wrote me an email saying that they heard there was a riot going on
in Berkeley on the news. So I went outside and there were several
helicopters swerling overhead, but the scene on sproul looked fairly
ordinary. So the news did overblow it a slight bit, yet there were about
80 kids who were basically running amock, storming the shoe and clothing
stores that had only a few employees on hand and running off with shoes
(although to be fair, a fraternity party out of control went for the same
shoestore last November), and several men were randomly assaulted by
groups of kids. That looked great on the TV news helicopter shots.

Christine

On Fri, 20 Apr 2001, Nathan Newman wrote:


> Oh god- BAMN is a front group for the Revolutionary Workers League, who
> during the battle for affirmative action at UC-Berkeley, tried to destroy
> the undergrad groups, including physically assaulting undergrads and
> bringing amplified equipment to try to drown out their rallies, on the
> assumption that then they, as true revolutionaries, who take "leadership" of
> the movement.
> 
> They take the term infantile ultraleftism to a level that makes the Sparts
> look like conservative social democrats.
> 
> They are without question the most hideous manifestation of left
> dysfunctionalism that I have ever encountered.  At one point during the
> campaign to defend the undergrad groups, we ended up creating a public
> letter with signatures from leaders of about six or seven different
> socialist groups disowning their actions as repulsive to any left ideal.
> 
> 
> What is the article entitled. I didn't see anything that looked relevant
> to Oakland.
> And what is the "C.D.A.A.I.P.E.B.A.M.N"?
> 
> 
> Carrol
> 
> Coalition to defend affirmative action and integrative and to promote
> equality by any means necessary.
> 
> Sorry about that - the paper copy came out yesterday morning but they
> didn't update their website until yesterday evening. Here's the link:
> http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2001-04-20/feature.html/page1.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>