Princetonians Protest Frist

A student-led filibuster has continued for eight straight days at Princeton, during which students have been speaking around the clock to protest Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s proposed procedural change that would make it difficult for Democrats to block President Bush’s judicial nominees.

Students are protesting in front of Frist Campus Center, for which $25 million was donated by the family of Frist, a Republican senator from Tenn., who graduated from Princeton in 1974.

During a Senate filibuster, members of the minority party delay a vote put forth by the majority party by taking advantage of their unlimited time at the podium. Senators often speak for hours, even reading from encyclopedias and cookbooks, in order to block votes.

Frist’s rule change would allow a simple majority of the Senate to end debate on the confirmation of appeals court nominees, rather than the 60 votes currently required.

At Princeton, protesters have read aloud from sources including the U.S. Constitution, judicial reports, phone directories, and Dr. Seuss, and have also performed musical acts and comedy routines.

Student organizers said they have chosen to filibuster in order to show the merits of maintaining an open dialogue in bipartisan government.

“We feel that the Senate is a deliberative body and it’s always been intended to be such, and checks and balances are part of the whole system,” said Jason B. Vagliano, a senior at Princeton who is one of the organizers of the filibuster.

He said the protestors believe the ability to block a vote is important because it prevents judges “who really are extremists and really quite unqualified” from winning lifelong court appointments.

“Frist is making it impossible to do anything about it,” Vagliano said yesterday. “The basic point, though, is that this is an assault on 200 years of Senate tradition.”

The student filibuster has received coverage from CNN, the Associated Press, and other national media outlets.

According to Vagliano, the filibuster started small, with a few students reading behind a music stand. They now have a more elaborate setup, with a tent and a live webcam connected to Vagliano’s computer. A live feed can be found at www.filibusterfrist.com.

“We’ve had food delivered by random people all over the country,” he said.

Paloma A. Zepeda ’06, spokeswoman for the Harvard Republican Club, issued a statement both supporting Frist’s proposal and showing respect for the protest at Princeton.

“If [Senate Democrats] disapprove of a nominee they should vote against that nominee, rather than stalling the business of the Senate seeking judges that pass a narrow, partisan litmus test,” the statement said.

“In some ways, the Princeton protesters are doing something that the Senate isn’t—they’re engaging in a public debate, while all our famously deliberative senators can do is stall,” according to the statement.

The Daily Princetonian reported last week that the filibuster faced an obstacle on its first day, when public safety officers said the students needed a permit to continue their demonstration. Princeton’s Dean of Undergraduate Students Kathleen Deignan approved the event shortly after. Vagliano said there has been no pressure to end the filibuster since, and it will continue at least into early next week.

“We’re in a special position to do something, to make ourselves heard,” he said. “We have been heard.”