The louder you shout, the less you are heard

 I've seen a great line that goes "I went around for years, shouting, HEY, EVERYBODY, I'M WHISPERING, and wondered why nobody believed me."

That saying ran through my mind when I heard the version of what happened on the UWM campus from the students who were arrested after the mob, which originally was organized to protest tuition hikes and staff cuts, decided to forcibly enter the Chancellor's office, attempting to do so in one case by scaling the building and entering through a second floor window.

The students claim the assembly was "peaceful and legal" and the arrests were a violation of their first amendment rights to free speech.  I'm sure it started that way, and they could have garnered support for their plight, but they blew their credibility when their conduct clearly overstepped the definition of peaceful, therefore also calling the legality of their conduct into question.  Their own student TV station "Panthervision" recorded the event, along with snowballs being thrown at police.

My profession depends on the first amendment, but I too realize that it stops when the behavior associated with the message becomes physically threatening to others.  I counted about 6 policemen trying to talk to the assembly while snowballs cascaded down on them, and I don't think the intent was to engage in play.

If students are so concerned about issues, it's important to understand the most effective way to enact change is through a more legislative process.  Protests make great news footage, but rarely do they change policy, and definitely not when the protest turns aggressive and even violent.  Police made arrests, and in my mind, did not act with violence against a much larger crowd. Arrests were made.  Those are the consequences.

Today they are staging another 'silent' protest, which is legal and perhaps will provide more impact than trying to break a door in.  Hopefully they outcome of this demonstration will provide a better lesson, and recall another saying, "If you want to capture someones attention...whisper."