FROM THE RIVER TO THE CORNFIELD.

When I said the mid-majors should consider themselves as in the same business as the Ivies, I wasn't advocating for doing the Columbia envy first.  "Ivy-envy has infested those institutions in the worst possible way, with the faddish multiculturalism and identity politics combining with access-assessment-remediation-retention to create dropout factories."  In that post, that sentence was a question, and I prayed that the answer was "No."  At Northern Illinois University, though, the administration building was the objective of an end-of-semester (today is Reading Day, and the weather is suitably gorgeous for procrastinating) gathering of the discontented.  "Pro-Palestine Protesters enter Altgeld Hall."

The article was last updated at 12.35 this morning, there are no new developments reported by The Northern Star this afternoon.  Whether this was some sort of coordinated action or something spontaneous on a rainy day, so far the students unleashed some salty language, but did not trash the building.

At 12:25 p.m. Thursday, student protesters began to gather at the MLK Commons stairs with snacks, chalk, posters, Palestinian flags and sunscreen.

The protest started marching toward Altgeld Hall at 3:18 p.m.

“In our millions, in our billions, we are all Palestinian,” a crowd of 21 people shouted while marching.

Once the crowd reached the front of Altgeld Hall, they stood on the circle and shouted.

“Lisa Freeman, you’re a sellout, pack your bags and get the hell out,” the crowd shouted.

At 3:30 p.m., the protesters entered Altgeld Hall and were met by Jeffery Salmon, director of the Center for Student Assistance, and Alex Pitner, director of Students Organizations.

Salmon asked if they had specific demands they wanted to deliver. Salmon took Salem and Narjis Ammar, sophomore biochemistry major and vice president of [Students for Justice in Palestine], to Altgeld Hall Room 300 while the rest of the protest went to Altgeld Hall Room 315.

Room 315 is the lobby of the regents' meeting room, and it's designated as a free speech zone for procedural reasons.  After the students delivered their manifesto, they went about their business.

When the protesters returned to the stairs at MLK Commons, the students ordered Vinny’s pizza and ate together.

A crowd of 17 people gathered at 6:15 p.m. and ate the pizza as they told stories about their family members from Palestine.

Protesters disbanded at 7:20 p.m.

It was the last day of classes.

Cold Spring Shops headquarters is on land that was in Wisconsin Territory before Illinois became a state. We recognize the labor applied by those settlers marking the trails that contemporary Illinoisans use to visit Lake Geneva, the Dells, and Door County, and to watch their teams get owned in Green Bay.