When a group of protesters — most of them students — decided to continue an on-campus anti-war demonstration by trickling down a hill and walking along the Vestal Parkway toward the military recruitment center at University Plaza, they were hoping to make a bold statement and raise awareness about the war in Iraq. Somewhere along the way, that goal met its end prematurely as protesters and police faced off in a cloud of expletives and pepper spray.

Now, more than two weeks later, whatever their real purpose might have been is lost in a torrent of repercussions brought on by arrests, complaints and grievances.

It’s regrettable that those protesters who were sincerely interested in broadcasting a positive message are now being linked to an instance which was both dangerous and inane. Varying reports have been made about the police’s reaction — and certainly, online footage of the arrests demonstrates the varying accuracy of the proceedings.

Only a few of the original 60 protesters made it to the Vestal Parkway, and only a handful of those can be said to have been openly and aggressively antagonizing the police. Unfortunately, now all of the demonstrators have been dragged down with them.

Instead of being a group of protesters trying to take a stand, they may now be remembered for blocking traffic, two accidents caused by distracted motorists, and the lost vision of a worthwhile cause. Indeed, even the Experimental Media Organization — which has had to contend with threats from the Student Association several times this year — faced charges from the SA despite the fact that they had very little to do with the second phase of the protest.

At least EMO has been spared the ugly process of defending their charter yet again (the charges have been dropped).

One way or another, March 19 ended up as a dark day for student activism, no matter how pure the intentions were to begin with.