AVW Newstime is taking a stand with a Rally to Cease Rallying in order to send a message of change in a humorous way.
Students marched down Court Street and held signs up in silence during a Board of Trustees meeting late last month — but now someone is taking a stand against activism.
On Friday at 4 p.m., AVW Newstime, a satirical comedy student news outlet, is gathering at the Civil War Monument on College Green for the not-so-typical Rally to Cease Rallying.
Because “nothing seems to be getting done” even after increased levels of activism on campus, a group of students are taking action by claiming to blame activism while the real problem behind student voices not being recognized by administration, said Evan Swingle, producer of AVW Newstime and a senior studying biology.
“It’s going to be a rally,” Swingle said. “We have a lot of people that have a lot they want to talk about. A lot of our members are going to speak. Then we’re going to do some fun stuff — there is going to be a talent show so that will be great.”
Activism is a topic the group wants to discuss, but at the same time, the group is trying to keep the event lighthearted, said Bianca Beaver, director at AVW Newstime and junior studying visual communications.
“The idea is that we’re trying not to be too serious about it,” Swingle said. “What better way to mock a rally than by putting something absolutely non-rally related right in the middle (like a talent show)?”
The group plans on having members of the group speak about important issues, including how they feel about rallies and how they feel about the topics rallies cover, Swingle said.
The group has even discussed “pie-ing” people or a pie booth amongst other games, but it depends on the budget, Beavers said.
“I am mad as hell that activism as a whole hasn’t been able to deliver what they promised, which is change,” said Luke Fikaris, a sophomore studying information technology communication systems who has two speeches planned [P1] for the event. “The only thing they’ve changed is the population of the Athens county jail cell, at this point.”
If the students are paying the administration, it’s only fair they listen to what the students have to say, said Christian McDaniel, a freshman studying biological sciences.
Swingle said the event is a way to address the same issues discussed in activism on campus, but from a different angle.
“The idea is that we are just trying to communicate the same message in a different way,” Swingle said. “I don’t hope anyone gets offended, obviously. We’re just trying to have some fun and anyone who wants to come out and support us is more than welcome to do so.”
To find more about the rally, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/710218845763399/
@liz_backo
eb823313@ohio.edu
[P1]Instead of “set” maybe “planned.”
