By Benjamin Parke
Daily Bruin Contributor
A self-styled billionaire who is a graduate student at UCLA remains in L.A. County Jail after being arrested during last week’s protests accompanying the Democratic National Convention.
The student was part of two dozen people arrested at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Rampart Division station Aug. 16 during an act of civil disobedience over police brutality.
She is booked in the jail as “Jane Doe,” as she and others have refused to give their names to the police.
The Sunday before, during a demonstration at The Gap on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, the student jokingly gave her name as “Iona Diamondfield” and was attired in fancy clothes as a member of the “Billionaires for Bush or Gore.”
She was one of about a dozen people from UCLA who formed an “affinity group” to keep tabs on each other as they protested the DNC.
According to one member of the group who talked to “Diamondfield” on Aug. 19, she and some others in the facility were fasting as an act of solidarity, taking liquids only.
“I’m a peaceful protester. I do not support police violence,” was Diamondfield’s only statement as police took her into custody.
During the protests from Aug. 13-17 nobody in the UCLA group, nicknamed “Superfriends,” was injured, though they did endure sweltering heat and some tense situations.
On the eve of the convention, protesters assembled at The Gap on the Third Street Promenade August to protest the clothing outlet’s alleged use of sweatshop labor.
From there, they marched to a party being held for the “Blue Dogs,” a caucus of more conservative Democrats, at the Santa Monica Pier.
Besides Diamondfield and other members from the affinity group, a UCLA art history professor was dressed to the hilt as another “Billionaire for Bush or Gore,” wearing a dapper suit complete with a top hat and dollar-patterned tie.
“We’re bipartisan, you see – we buy Democrats and Republicans,” said the professor, who introduced himself to people as “Fillmore Pockets.”
At the beach, marchers were addressed by Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Medea Benjamin, who pointed out that the party being held on the pier above was sponsored by entities such as the National Rifle Association and cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris.
Although there was a police presence as the protesters amassed at the party’s gate on the pier, events that day were largely peaceful, according to Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown, a member of the Green Party.
“It’s a wonderful day. I’m proud of our city,” McKeown said. “We’re here exercising our free speech. Santa Monica is the place you can do that. I hope L.A. is too.”
The next afternoon, as people assembled at Pershing Square before marching to Staples Center, LAPD presence was evident as thousands of officers stationed themselves at various points around the square.
Inside, signs such as “We Have a Government of the Exxons, By the General Motors, and For the DuPonts,” proliferated.
State Sen. Tom Hayden, who was involved in the protests outside the 1968 DNC in Chicago, said anything might happen, as he milled about the crowds in Pershing Square.
“It’s like being in intensive care,” Hayden said. “You don’t know from hour to hour how it’s going to be.”
That night, after a concert by Rage Against the Machine outside Staples Center, police cut power to the stage and ordered those assembled to disperse.
When the crowd of thousands didn’t leave within 15 minutes, police let loose a volley of rubber bullets and sprayed tear gas as cavalry officers entered the protest zone and used nightsticks to clear the area.
The UCLA students saw plastic bottles and a smoke bomb thrown over the fence toward Staples Center before the dispersal order.
They then joined other protesters as they marched along downtown streets, sitting at intersections to block traffic as drums pounded and cars honked.
“I think my body’s about one percent water now,” said Brian Rudiger, a former UCLA student. “And about 70 percent pissed off.”
“Our next demos need to be in the winter,” said Kevin Rudiger, a group member and protest organization spokesman.
Although many protesters say the two-party system has been corrupted by corporate influence, Wayne Meeks D-N.Y. said youthful activism is needed, since people accept the status quo as they get older.
“Despite the money, nothing changes without the young people,” Meeks said. “Their activity is what changed the course of America in the ’60s.”
Affinity group members also participated in a demonstration on Aug. 16 involving a confrontation with police as they approached Staples Center.
The group said police needlessly cut off a group of protesters from the main group and didn’t allow anyone to exit, creating a tense and frightening situation.
A similar situation occurred on Aug. 17 when police closed off exit routes for about half an hour at the Twin Towers Detention Center where the protesters arrested earlier in the week were being held.
The police in riot gear eventually left the scene, allowing people to go home, capping several days of signs, slogans, marches and low-flying helicopters.