Activists exercise their right to free speech under the First Amendment during first vigil of 2008 at UCSF

February 3, 2008

Dear Advocates for Animals, Despite the low activist turnout (there were only two of us) at the vigil for animals at UCSF last month, I am glad to report that we continued to exercise our right to free speech under the First Amendment. And although we had been video-taped and questioned repeatedly by UCSF police during the two previous vigils, the cops pretty much left us alone except for a brief greeting. We probably gave away only a few dozen leaflets, but there were several young persons (I am guessing they were medical students) who took our literature; thus I believe we got our message through to some of the student body. All in all, it turned out to be another successful vigil, albeit a relatively quiet one. I only hope that more activists will join us in the future; it would be nice if we could outnumber the UCSF police assigned to watch over

us. One notable incident during the vigil involved a supportive war veteran (Vietnam War Era) who was suffering from AIDS. As he said, the animals have no choice in these matters. He also was well aware of the problems involved in extrapolating from rats or mice or other species to the human condition. To see a man (who was thin as a rail) clearly suffering from a disease so supportive of this cause was quite heartening; he even requested a few extra newsletters to distribute to fellow war veterans at the Veterans Administration hospital. Bob O'Brien PS: Next vigil at UCSF will be February 21 (I hope).

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