Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

Florida Atlantic University's first student-run news source.

UNIVERSITY PRESS

The case of the missing protest

It’s 8:33 a.m. outside of the Baldwin House, three minutes into Jacob Ades’ parking protest. The streets are supposed to be flooded with more than 200 slow-moving, honking cars from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., as the protest’s Facebook event page stipulates. Problem is, nobody is there – not even Ades.

In fact, the first car to show up in front of the Baldwin House belonged to campus police. The officer inside claimed he was just making his morning rounds like he normally does, and he didn’t show up again. The only vehicle to pass the Baldwin House more than once was a Palm Beach County bus.

11 minutes into the protest and still nowhere to be found, Ades canceled his attendance, explaining that he could not attend his own protest because he was experiencing an emergency that required him to drive to his parents’ house. He didn’t explain the emergency, but he did stress that he had woken up in the morning intent on attending the protest.

Students rode by on bicycles, and a couple cars drove quietly past as they slowed down for the speed bumps on both sides of the street. The roads in front of the Baldwin House remained peaceful.

“Maybe they couldn’t show up because they couldn’t find a place to park,” said Matthew Schneider, a sophomore with an undecided major. Schneider passed the Baldwin House on his bicycle unaffected by his presence on protest grounds. He was passing the protest without any protesters.

Even though the protest’s creator didn’t show up, one honking car did. A white four-door Ford drove past with the horn blaring for a full five seconds, but the driver was not going slowly or interfering with traffic. His single horn sounded like an aggravated driver, not 230 students voicing their opinions.

Ades said he’s going to plan another protest in the near future, because “if no one was out there, [then] maybe people are happy with current conditions. But that does not solve the problem,” he said. “I do believe it still needs attention. Breezeway advertising may be next.”

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

Do you have something to say? Submit your comments below
All UNIVERSITY PRESS Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *