Ellington

Camilo Moreno-Salamanca doesn’t look like your typical activist. Despite braving the sun on the hottest day of the year, the UW sophomore looks cool and put together in a white polo shirt. An intended business major, Moreno-Salamanca speaks eloquently between sips of iced tea, but with a slight accent that belies his immigration from Colombia.

He hardly seems like the hell-raising type. Yet looks can be deceiving; during the course of the past year, Moreno-Salamanca has worked to promote environmental issues and Latino roles at the UW and acted as co-planner for a large rally in April against campus budget cuts.

“I get really frustrated with the student apathy on campus,” Moreno-Salamanca said. “Challenges are getting people to pay attention, getting people to care, and getting people to do something about it.”

Last year, the UW watched many groups like Moreno-Salamanca’s march through campus, chanting their activist mantras into megaphones in a period of collegiate financial strife.

For these student activists, campus issues are worth the time and determination spent to organize a protest.

Two days after Moreno-Salamanca and other planners created a Facebook event for the rally, 10,000 students, faculty and staff had been invited, and in less than a week, 400 people turned out to protest the state’s proposed use of funds.

Still, Moreno-Salamanca acknowledges that the rally wasn’t going to stop the budget cuts from happening. His goal in planning the rally was rather to establish UW students as a presence and let legislators know that higher education must be a priority. Given this, Moreno-Salamanca was somewhat disappointed, but not totally disheartened, with the number of people that attended.

“Activism is not a business for quitters. I faced a lot of challenges, but I faced them with the mentality that you are going to have challenges in this area,” he said. “It’s about making a presence with your numbers and [making] sure that your message is clear but not too aggressive.”

Sophomore Eunice How, a Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) member, also appreciates the changes her lobbying can create — even if those changes may never fully develop. She said that past activities, such as bake sales, don’t seem to be very effective. Through her activism with SLAP, she’s seen immediate results.

“We’re actually talking with the president, getting stuff done, pressuring him to get these decisions made; it’s more hands-on,” How said.

SLAP held three major rallies this year, mostly focused on labor rights in Honduras, where workers laid off from a Russell factory were owed $1.5 million in severance pay; the factory is operated by Nike, a supplier of UW apparel. Each member of the group assumes a different role in planning these rallies, including dealing with the media, creating props, or communicating with the police.

Although they rally without physical force, How said that the police always assume the group will be violent; this suspicion was evident at a rally in May where the group tried to talk to President Mark Emmert.

“We walked toward the president’s office in Gerberding [Hall], and the police told us only a couple of us could go in. We said, ‘No, we all want to go in; we represent the UW community,’” How said.

The group was eventually allowed in, but were told to be quiet and leave their signs outside.

Before rallies, SLAP holds planning meetings where veteran members teach others in the group how to take on these roles. SLAP members are also in charge of getting the word out about protests through Facebook, flyers and word of mouth. How said that though these rallies are recognized by the administration, SLAP’s ideas may not be affecting the decisions of those in charge.

“They definitely know that we are here and we are loud and we are telling them our opinions,” How said. “They listen to us and take into consideration what we think, but it’s really hard to convince them to do what we think is best in terms of human rights. They don’t think it’s feasible to do what we’re asking them to do.”

Other groups interact with administrators to greater degrees of success.

Democracy Insurgent, a Middle East solidarity group at the UW, was able to create change through their collaboration with the UW’s custodians. The group took action near the end of spring quarter when many swing-shift custodians faced moving to the day shift. Since the custodial staff comprises a largely immigrant workforce, Democracy Insurgent lends resources and support by helping custodians communicate their needs through rallies, signs and flyers.

“We don’t speak English well,” said custodian Gizachew Cassa. “Writing English is hard for us. They help us; we help each other.”

A small but significant victory was achieved when swing-shift custodians scheduled to be transferred to the day shift were given a one-month extension on this schedule change the day after a huge rally and presence at a Board of Regents meeting. Soon after a second large rally, the number of swing-shift positions offered to custodians spiked from eight to 50.

Whatever the issue, Moreno-Salamanca stressed the importance of getting involved, especially as the university falls on tough financial times in the coming year.

“Every student should get involved in protecting their education, their university,” Moreno-Salamanca said. “As a student, I have to look at myself and say, ‘What do I care about?’”

Reach reporter Haylee Morse-Miller at features@dailyuw.com.