‘Outfly for a Cause’ events spark interest

At 5:45 a.m.Wednesday, the sky was still dark, but Wartburg’s campus was more alive than ever.

An estimated 1,000 students streamed from all corners of campus onto Clinton Field, student senate leaders said.

Project Orange was underway.

Also known as “Outfly for a Cause,” the event was a student-led initiative organized by the student senate executive team to get the student voice heard.

“It’s good to see students caring about something and enthusiastic about something…because certainly there will be times in their lives after they leave college where they will need to take a stand,” Dean of Faculty Ferol Menzel said during an interview Wednesday. 

Nine issues, ranging from tuition to international student support, were on the senate’s platform.

The plan was to march to Greenwood, the college president’s house, in effort to have Interim President William Hamm declare a winter Outfly.

Senate President Travis Bockenstedt first addressed the crowd.

“For way too long our voice has been shut out. There’s some at this college who assume we are apathetic. They say we don’t deserve a voice because we don’t give a damn,” he said.  

After reaching Greenwood, students began chants of “We want Hamm!” and sang the loyalty song.

Wearing a Waldorf sweatshirt, Hamm emerged, greeting the students on his lawn where he said he has no control over the faculty.

Students then went to Luther Hall where they placed orange flags with individually written complaints on them in the grass for the administration to read.

As the day went on, 30 students participated in two service opportunities, flood relief at St. John’s Church or at Penni Pier’s house. 

But the excitement turned back into reality for students when Menzel released a statement to faculty that said it was not an authorized day off.

Paul Magnall, business administration and accounting professor, held class as usual.

Magnall wondered if there were service projects, like the ones that normally accompany fall Outfly and if there was a scheduled forum to discuss the issues.

“If you’re going to have a protest and you’re not going to class then you probably should have some sort of forum to discuss the issues,” he said. 

Some students, like Eric Lauterbach, thought the enthusiasm of the morning wore away as students received e-mails from some professors who expected them in class.

“Project Orange was like assembling an army and then there was no battle to be fought,” he said.

Planning for Project Orange started in February. A week before the march occurred, members of the senate introduced their platform to the students by way of petition. student senate reported that 1,377 students signed.

The event attracted area media attention. An article on the Waterloo Courier’s Web site and a segment on the KWWL news focused on the “protest” held at Wartburg.

Tara Winter, associate director of admissions, said she was concerned about the recruiting aspects from the coverage.

“I don’t want Wartburg to have any negative press. Not that I don’t think students should be heard, because I do. I just wonder if this is the right forum to present it in,” she said.

Hamm said prospective students would be more interested in attending a school that isn’t afraid of this type of action.

“College campuses are supposed to be vibrant kinds of places with lots of different viewpoints and people arguing for their position on things,” he said. 

Nadipuram said the next step is to develop an organized effort between student senate and students to ensure each issue is researched. He said senate plans on using media resources to communicate with students, as well as the senate Web site. 

Bockenstedt said he was caught off-guard with the response that Project Orange received. He said the most important thing was how it got students talking.

“They’re having conversations together about issues…I don’t think it’s something I’ve seen on this campus since I’ve been here,” he said.