The tactics of nonviolence, not only as a strategy, but also as a philosophy, is one
of the most effective strategies for social movements to effect change.  An oppressive
majority uses force in order to assert their power over the minority.  When the oppressed
minority confronts their oppressor, it would be ill-advised to fight them in a battle that is
uphill.  The oppressor is better at violence than the oppressed and so other tactics should
be used.  Another reason to favor nonviolence is that one does not want only to win the
campaign, but also to win the hearts of the oppressors.  To reform a drug addict and
getting the addict to go clean is more desirable than locking the addict in a jail cell.  
 Nonviolence was the philosophy we used behind the glass doors of Bendetson. 
What did this mean practically?  We used no drugs or alcohol.  We did not destroy or
otherwise harm any property.  We were mindful of others.  We did not use violent words
or actions.  There are a few instances that reflect our commitment to nonviolence that we
would like to illustrate.
I. Outside of Bendetson there were hearts strung from the trees and lamposts.  We
also had several banners hung.  An individial from the Tufts community took it upon
himself to tear down the TSAD hearts and banners that were in compliance with law and
university policy.  Obviously upset, a TSAD member approached the man.  She asked
him why he was tearing down our personal property.  “Because I hate dykes, niggers,
fags, and dykes, and this has gone too far,” replied the student.  He then went on to ask,
“You know how you can soften me up?  Have you and one of your dyke friends have sex
with me.”
 Words of hate directed towards a protesting group is not uncommon.  Our pledge
to nonviolence helped in the assembly of a reaction.  The TSAD member to which these
comments were directed at responded emotionally as she was verbally abused by this
ignorant man without instigation.  Other members in the group reported the incident to
TUPD officers and Chuck Lenero wrote a police report on the incident.  No retalitory
actions were taken by TSAD, as that would be contrary to the nonviolent philosophy. 
Some of the members of TSAD wrote letters to the Dean of Students to help the case
against the individual and in support of our fellow TSAD student.  This was another
nonviolent reaction to the act of defamation.
II. Emily Good was posted at the bathroom on the main floor when a police officer
attempted to forcibly remove her from the facility.  She refused to move and did not
respond physically to the officer as he attempted to shove her out into the hallway. 
Fellow TSAD members did not respond violently by force, nor vocally.  We instead sat
down in solidarity around the entrance to the bathroom.
III. Adam Carlis was detained in the foyer area after attending prospective customers
of the corportation by police.  They threatened him with arrest and asked him to leave. 
Adam refused, not purely as an act of defiance, but because he was a part of a nonviolent
occupation and he was not going to leave until justice had been served.  With Adam’s
fate uncertain, his fellow TSAD protestors took notice and began to make it more
convienient for the police to allow Adam back in than it would be for them to continue to
detain him.  We did this by banging on the doors and shouting “Let him in!”  Startled, the
police allowed Adam back into the building within a few seconds.  The was a nonviolent
manner in which students were able to coerce the oppressive force to execute the will of
the people in a nonviolent manner.
 The spirit of nonviolence was upheld in our decision-making process, which was
consensus.  It was executed with the efforts to educate the workers in the building on our
issue upon entrance and distrobution of cookies to make them feel comfortable with us. 
Whether they ate the cookies or not is irrelavant.  We issued a statement citing our pledge
of nonviolence which was distributed to administrators, police, and the press.  It is clear
that our movement was impregnated with nonviolence and the immense coercive force
behind her ensured our victory.