More than 25 members of the Wheeling Jesuit University community, as well as several Wheeling residents, joined the 10,000 protesters who gathered at the gates of Fort Benning for the annual School of the Americas (SOA) protest last November. Members of the Wheeling Jesuit community have participated in the protest for the past four years.

"It's a very powerful experience," says Mike Iafrate, pastoral associate with Wheeling Jesuit's campus ministry department. "To walk with thousands and thousands of people to the gates of the Fort where all these small white crosses are placed is an image I won't soon forget."

On Nov. 21-23, the group joined participants from Jesuit colleges, universities, high schools, as well as people from parishes and ministries across the country for the Ignatian Family Teach-In to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the Salvadoran Jesuit Martyrs, and to protest the U.S. military training facility at Fort Benning.

Rev. Jim O'Brien, S.J., a professor of philosophy at the University, made the trip for the first time and was moved by the whole weekend. "When you get to the end of Sunday's procession at the Fort and see all those crosses piled up at the gate, it's very powerful because you know the crosses are symbols of the innocent people who have died in Latin America," O'Brien says.

He was happy to see so many students and Jesuits participating in the event, and applauds the commitment to closing the SOA. "There is more to being Christian than sitting in a room and thinking about God. For those who are Jesuit trained, being Christian means trying to work for justice."

Hearing others around her talk about the protest prompted Wheeling Jesuit student Kelly Swan to take part. The Morgantown resident says the weekend was a learning experience.

"I have learned so much about issues unique to the Wheeling area and the state while living in the Mother Jones House, but I felt a need to learn more about issues affecting other parts of the country and the world. The protest was a very profound experience. I was a part of a diverse group of people all speaking out against the same thing," she explains. She believes that the Ignatian Family Teach-In provided those who attended with invaluable knowledge of social justice issues, and a way to raise their voices and live out the Jesuit ideal of faith seeking justice.

Levi White, a student at Wheeling Jesuit, says the weekend was a way to help those who don't have the same opportunities as he does. "There are many reasons that I travel to Fort Benning every year, but it mostly comes from the realization that God has blessed me with a privileged life. I feel a sense of duty to give back to those who are exploited and don't lead such privileged lives," White says. "I am amazed how the Ignatian Family Teach-In and SOA protest opens the eyes of people participating for the first time."

The SOA, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), is a United States Army training school. The school trains soldiers and other military personnel from Latin American countries. Funded by U.S. taxpayers, the school has trained more than 60,000 members of Latin American militaries since its founding in 1946.

Protesters ranging from teenagers to senior citizens marched again this year, demanding the closure of the military training school.

"I think it's inspiring to see older members of the clergy and young people standing up for something they believe is unjust," Iafrate says. "For me, participating the in the protest has been one of the most profound ways I've expressed my faith in a God who desires peace. Protesting at Fort Benning is my way of standing up for something I believe is wrong."
Rev. Paul Stark, S.J., director of Campus Ministry at Wheeling Jesuit, believes participating in the weekend is way to express views and connect with others who share the same views.

"Jesuit colleges, universities, high schools and parishes can experience a global solidarity and a broader understanding of what it means to be Christian in our times, at events such as the Ignatian Teach-In/SOA Protest," says Stark. "Focusing on faith-based justice activities, we can understand our own interrelatedness, our own responsibility to each other. Peace can be a reality, if we let it."