Sacramento State senior Leisa Barnes was arrested and couldspend three to six months in federal prison for protesting at amilitary base in Georgia last month.

Barnes was the first of 52 protestors to be arrested on Nov. 22for crossing the line of demarcation and allegedly trespassing onfederal property.

Barnes and six others from Sac State were taking part in anannual protest against the Western Hemisphere Institute forSecurity Cooperation at Fort Benning, Ga.

WHISC, commonly known as the School of the Americas, is atraining facility for military, police and civilian agencies in theWestern hemisphere, primarily in Latin America.

The school has been criticized for allegedly teaching terrortactics for Latin-American militaries. Graduates of the programinclude Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the assassins of ElSalvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero and other convicted violatorsof human rights laws.

“I think I’m in a position of privilege for allAmericans,” said Barnes, a single mother of five and a finearts major. “Many people would like to show theirdetermination at a higher level but can’t.”

In the circles of peace, protestors being arrested is consideredan honor.

Barnes was arrested when she &- along with three-time NobelPeace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly – climbed a fence that separatedthe protest area and the military base.

“I was handcuffed and later taken to an airplane hangarwhere I was put in chains and body-searched three times,”Barnes said. “It was all about intimidation.”

Barnes also said that the arrested protestors were not readtheir Miranda rights. The U.S. Marshal’s office in Sacramentosaid that during mass arrests in protests, it is not necessary toread the Miranda rights unless the person in custody isinterrogated.

Barnes will stand trial on Jan. 26, 2004, in Georgia. Ifconvicted, Barnes could serve three to six months in a federalprison and face a fine of up to $5,000.

For the last 17 years, the group School of the Americas Watchhas organized thousands of people to gather for a weekend to holdvigils and protest American involvement in killings of politicalopponents in Latin America. Peace activists and victims of humanrights violations spoke to the gathered crowds.

Protestors accused the military of blasting music at highdecibels from inside the base to disrupt the speakers, but WHISCofficials denied the allegations.

“Our senior staff was playing patriotic music for thetroops to listen to while they worked on Saturday,” said LeeRials, the public information officer for WHISC. “Wedidn’t disrupt the ceremonies they had on Sunday, the mainday of the protest.”

Groups are allowed to tour the facilities with permission fromWHISC staff. Protests are also allowed with a permit.

WHISC’s name was changed from the School of the Americasin January 2001 because of the negative attention it received. ThePentagon, instead of the U.S. Army, now operates the program.