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Birzeit's Student Council 1999 Election  |
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| . | The Blocs in Action - Day 2 The second day of election campaigning for the 1999 Birzeit
University Student Council Elections finished today with a
spectacular display of marches, election speeches, political
sketches, music and traditional dance as student blocs expressed
their election message to the over 4,000 member student body.
Although the second day of campaigning was met again with
cloudy, rainy weather, it did nothing to deter the spirit of
excitement and expectation evident during the election period on
the university campus.
Each student bloc was again allowed one hour of campaign
activities, beginning this morning at 11 a.m. with An-Nahdah Bloc, and followed by the Change Bloc, the Democratic Pole and the Jerusalem Bloc.
An Nahdah (the Awakening Bloc) in Action
Focusing on the issue of arrest campaigns against student activists in their campaigning today, members of An-Nahdah bloc rallied around models of the Israeli Megiddo prison and the Palestinian Jericho Detention center. Students tore apart both prisons, and marched towards a model of the Dome of the Rock. The march was led by students in chains, and other bloc members carrying black and green flags. The bloc called all students to support
the development of an effective student council, and focused on the unification of the Palestinian people as their ultimate goal in all activities.
Change Bloc in Action
At 12 p.m. it was the Change Bloc's turn to present their platforms, focusing again on the respect for differing ideas and perspectives to form a unified and diverse student council, in turn reflecting the needed unity of Palestinian society as a whole. The bloc presented their ideas through a number of artistic sketches and election speeches.
The Democratic Pole in Action
The Democratic Student's Pole (Al Qutob), took to the scene at 1 p.m., with members dancing into the middle of campus and performing traditional folk dancing, 'dabkeh'. After the first dance, a giant black shroud with foreign flags approached the dancers and 'smothered' their traditional dancing as somber music played in the background. The shroud was carried by hooded figures dressed in black.
As poetry from Mahmoud Darwish played in the background, the dancers broke through the black shroud, waving Palestinian and multi-coloured flags, signifying the rejection of foreign cultures taking over Palestinian culture, and the ultimate triumph of Palestinian culture over these alien cultures, an election focus for Al Qutob this year. This was followed by a number of speeches and political sketches further presenting these ideas and the idea of Palestinian unity.
The Jerusalem Bloc in Action
The campaigning ended with the Jerusalem Bloc transforming the campus at 2 p.m. into a stage offering a depiction of the state of Palestinian society and Palestine today. Images were offered of Palestinians during the Intifada, the signing of the Oslo Accord, a wooden prison was placed in the middle of campus to signify Israeli jails, paper houses scattered haphazardly in the middle of campus to signify Israeli settlements, and a symbolic Israeli checkpoint at which those participating in the march, headed by a student dressed as Yasser Arafat, were stopped from passing through.
The march broke through the checkpoint, with participants dressed in military uniforms and traditional dress, carrying olive branches as a symbol of peace, towards a model of the Dome of the Rock at the center of the rally, where other members were waiting for them waving their traditional flags and 'kuffiyehs', with the Palestinian National Anthem playing in the background. A group of young children, signifying the future, performed a traditional folk dance (dabkeh), followed by sketches and speeches stressing Jerusalem as the capital of an independent democratic Palestinian state and the unity of the Palestinian people as the main issues of the bloc.
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Reported and Presented by Birzeit
99 Elections Team.
Contact: webmaster@birzeit.edu