Saturday, April 1, 2006

In solidarity with SPEAK:
WAR educates Oxford Alumni and promotes alternatives to animal testing

The second day of the North American Oxford University Alumni Association conference in New York City began with a confrontation with the haughty and arrogant management of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In the absence of police presence, Waldorf management tried to strong-arm activists into limiting their presence at the Waldorf’s main entrance. After a tense confrontation on the street, NYPD officers arrived and stood up for WARs rights to be on the public sidewalk which the Waldorf had previously claimed that they “owned”.

For the entire day, WAR manned an exhibit display and literature table while dozens of activists held graphic posters and circulated through the crowd with clipboards to secure petition signatures. It was especially delightful to converse with so many British and Canadian Oxford Alumni and to find that many have strong feelings against the building of the animal lab.

At the end of the day, a Professor from Brasenose came along and sputtered and spewed a venomous attack against us. He was the ONLY one to complain about our presence and who clearly was a supporter of the building of the lab. His antagonistic and hostile behavior was totally out of place and even his fellows from Oxford looked at him like he had lost his mind.

Post conference addendum: After a full day of protest and educational outreach, WAR activists decided to attend some of the Alumni breakout dinners. One group traveled to LaGrezia, the Italian restaurant that has in past years, regularly hosted the Corpus Christi Reunion Dinner. The maitre d’ told activists that this year, for the first time ever, their dinner had been canceled at the very last minute.

The other WAR contingent had a more successful engagement. They attended the dinner of Exeter College, which was at the 5 Star Italian restaurant Cellini. The literature table was set up at the restaurant’s front door and not only did we speak to Exeter grads but also to the Alumni of Balliol College, Pembroke College & Trinity College, who were traveling past Cellini to their reunion dinner at the University Club.

Cellini management was gracious and hospitable. The owner had been concerned when he received a call from the Oxford Alumni Association questioning security and notifying him that there would likely be a protest on the evening of the dinner. When the owner saw that the protest was peaceful and not in the least confrontational, the owner delivered 4 portions of heavenly, al dente angel hair pasta in basil tomato sauce (without cheese of course) to the hungry demonstrators.

A perfect ending to a productive weekend of outreach and an equally perfect launch to the first day of April, the month we focus on animals in laboratories culminating in World Week for Liberation of Laboratory Animals.