A speak-out was held Monday at UMass Boston for Tony Van Der Meer, professor of the Africana Studies Department, who was arrested last Thursday after a skirmish with a recruiter for the National Guard. The incident began when Mr. Van Der Meer came to the defense of student Tony Naro, who was wearing a shirt that read “Military Recruiters Off My Campus.” When Van Der Meer arrived, Naro was being called names by the recruiter and was being questioned by campus police for handing out flyers for a remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. According to witnesses, the name calling from the recruiters escalated, eventually leading to a recruiter telling Van Der Meer that he should be “shot in the head.” The majority of those in attendance on Monday opposed Mr. Van Der Meer’s arrest, citing that he was not the aggressor, though police claim that Van Der Meer pushed an officer. A hearing for Mr. Van Der Meer will be held on May 28.
