Protest rallies, hunger strikes and sit-ins.

To an active group of students that used to roam the Iowa State campus, the phrase September 29th was much than just a date on a calendar.

It might be hard for young students to understand the controversy created by the now-defunct September 29th Movement, a group that fought for its cause in ways that were unorthodox to a sleepy Iowa State campus.

Started on Sept. 29, 1995, the Movement was an organization that was outspoken about campus issues that members perceived to be discriminatory. The most notorious — and fiercely debated — point of the Movement’s platform was its crusade to change the name of Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, formerly Old Botany, because of statements Catt made during her suffrage campaign that members believed were racist and offensive to minorities.

Movement members did not take their cause lightly. Although it’s been more than a year since the graduation of several Movement members, who battled ISU administration and sparked discussion among students, the key players in The September 29th Movement have not forgotten what their struggle was for.

And in the beginning, there was activism …

The Movement was first started with an article in Uhuru, a Black Student Alliance newsletter, headlined “The Catt is out of the Bag: Was she racist?” published on Sept. 29, 1995.

Meron Wondwosen, former editor of Uhuru, said the article was meant to “inform and raise awareness” about the issues of racism, classism and xenophobism in conjunction with Catt. In the eyes of some, that’s exactly what the article accomplished, and the Movement was born.

Members didn’t have to meet any standards to be in the Movement. They didn’t have to be of a certain race, sex or creed. Leaders of the Movement only hoped that those who joined would put their heart and soul into the Movement and fight for racial equality.

But leading the group’s numerous protests and rallies were the few core people who embodied what the Movement was about.

The naming of Catt Hall started a period of contention on campus. These people were at the heart of that turbulence.

Meron Wondwosen

Meron Wondwosen, one of the members of the Movement’s central committee, believed that Catt Hall was a symbol of the issues facing black students at ISU.

Wondwosen served as president of the Black Student Alliance during the last active year of the Movement. In an interview with the Daily during the fall of 1997, she promised Catt Hall’s name would be changed — before she graduated from ISU.

Today, Wondwosen is a student in international law at Howard Law School in Washington, D.C., and she said she doesn’t regret her involvement in the Movement.

“I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” she said. “Before I was involved in the Movement, I was committed to standing up for what I believe in, and now I realize that although it can be a lonely place to stand, it’s worth it in the end.”

Although Catt Hall’s name remains unchanged, Wondwosen still defends what some people view as failure.

“Just because we didn’t succeed in changing the name of a building doesn’t mean that we didn’t succeed in making others aware of diversity issues on campus,” she said.

Milton McGriff

Milton McGriff is remembered by many as the most outspoken member of The September 29th Movement. The Daily archives are filled with stories of McGriff’s various bold quotes and actions, such as showing up at a Government of the Student Body meeting wearing a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

Like Wondwosen, he doesn’t regret his actions, and his interest in the Movement is still important to him.

“Nothing has changed the halls of power,” he said. “There are still people trying to roll back the progress people of color have made.”

McGriff currently is working as a political reporter for The Philadelphia Tribune and is preparing to write a book about death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, whom McGriff believes is the victim of a mistrial.

He still harbors resentment about the way ISU administration handled the affair.

“Catt Hall is a symbol of how the administration heavy-handedly dealt with students,” he said. “[The administration] never addressed the issue of how they went about naming Catt Hall, and the pretense was that she represented all women, when she clearly didn’t.”

Allan Nosworthy

Movement member and GSB senator Allan Nosworthy went on a hunger strike in protest of the naming of Catt Hall in the fall of 1997. Nosworthy started his hunger strike on Monday, Sept. 22, 1997, and continued the strike until he was hospitalized the following Saturday with severe stomach pain.

He was released three days later without any long-lasting effects. Wondwosen defended the strike at the time, saying, “If Allan dies, his blood is on the hands of [ISU President Martin] Jischke.”

Nosworthy was last believed to be living in New York, but the Daily was unable to reach him for comment.

Administration

ISU President Martin Jischke may have been the most central figure of the university’s battles with the Movement. Nearly all of the Movement’s criticism of the university was directed at him.

Nosworthy, McGriff and Wondwosen were arrested for refusing to leave Jischke’s office on April 6, 1998, and repeated attempts to create a line of communication between Jischke and the Movement also stalled.

Jischke said the administration has no regrets regarding how officials dealt with the group, but he does disapprove of “some of the behavior of some of the individuals on campus” during the Movement’s years.

Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Hill said although he doesn’t regret the way the Movement’s actions were handled, it’s important to know that he came into the Movement’s activities two to three years after they started.

When asked if he missed the having the Movement around, Hill said he did not.

“This is an active campus, and there is always something going on,” he said.

Today

Though most evidence suggests that the Movement currently is inactive, former members have plenty to say about the future of the group.

Wondwosen said that although the Movement isn’t currently working, it doesn’t mean that it won’t ever be dynamic again.

“Sometimes students are very active, and other times there are times in which there is little activity,” she said. “During the times of high activism, the administration holds its breath, and during the other times, it’s like the calm before the storm. The next period of activism usually raises the same issues.”

When asked specifically if he thought that the Movement’s desires had been met, Jischke said ISU administration was “working on those issues before The September 29th Movement, and our efforts have continued after their activities. The university has continued to enhance the climate for diversity.”

Hill said the administration has continued to do things to “meet the needs of the campus’ minority affairs.”

However, Wondwosen said the ISU administration tried to stifle the Movement and what it stood for.

“I think an administration that would go out of its way to silence the students is not one that I would respect. [Re-naming Catt Hall] was all about money, or some alumni that gave $5 million to the building, not about justice, diversity or morality,” she said.

McGriff said that although he has moved on, he still has a deep interest in the outcome of The September 29 Movement.

“Students today don’t believe they can change things and some students may not want to change things, but students can make a difference.”

McGriff describes ISU as a “microcosm of what students like to refer to as the real world” and added that his involvement in the Movement prepared him for what the real world is really like.

“The mechanics of power are the same wherever you go,” he said.

And whether the Movement is over or just simply dormant, McGriff offered this advice to ISU students.

“Students of all colors need to see that they can be empowered. People don’t empower you; you empower yourself.”