AVW Newtime rallies against rallying with Rally to Cease Rallying

AVW Newstime took over College Green for its satirical Rally to Cease Rallying, spending Friday afternoon protesting against protesting.The rally, at its surface, blamed activism as the reason for problems like tuition hikes, and the ralliers encouraged students to stop having a voice because it was clearly not working.“Who even knows what a rally is anyways?” said Trianna Connolly, a freshman journalism major and speaker at the protest. Connolly then explained the dictionary definition of a rally, the Urban Dictionary definition of a rally, and went into a lengthy talk about metaphors and trees.Other speakers also gave ridiculous speeches, satirizing the speeches often given after big protest events. For example, sophomore informational and telecommunication systems major Luke Fikaris gave a speech on how much he hated his dad; senior journalism major Lindsey Brenkus gave a speech about swearing at strangers and her failed attempt to make a grilled cheese sandwich; sophomore media major Tom Wade gave a speech that rhymed and was said in a thick Irish accent.The only thing that interrupted the rally was a brief talent show, which showcased the abilities of several members of the Newstime team and lasted approximately 45 seconds. Skills presented included texting, doing jumping jacks and eating a banana.Dozens of people watched the rally, including groups of prospective students and people passing through College Green with their siblings, with many loving the idea. Courtney Ritchey, a freshman majoring in integrated media, was one participant who said she really enjoyed the Rally to Cease Rallying.“I feel like a lot of people heard about [the rally], and a lot of people enjoyed it,” Ritchey said. “It is important to speak on matters that are important to you and make your voice heard.”Hannah Ticoras, a senior studying English, really enjoyed the rally as well, noting that everyone had fun except for the administration and dads because both got a stern talking to.“I am a big proponent of satire as a means of social commentary,” Ticoras said. “I just think that Newstime has always been really in tune with what activism is happening on campus and supporting it as well as gently chiding it. … It’s really important to just take a load off and laugh sometimes about [issues that feel like they won’t ever be solved] while still understanding that everybody is behind the right thing.”The rally was led by Evan Swingle, the producer of AVW Newstime and a senior biology major, who felt the rally was really successful.“We were just trying to make some people laugh, make some people smile,” Swingle said. “We were trying to get across the message that everybody here has a voice.”Swingle noted that the rally was not to make fun of activism, but rather to point out that the administration rarely deals with problems that students feel really strongly about.“We keep having all these issues — tuition hikes, things like that,” Swingle said. “The activists and the rallies have been trying to get their point across and we just wanted to give a different perspective on that.”