While plotting a takeover of the governor’s office, student leaders showed care at every turn
The Palm Beach Post
Saturday, April 22, 2006

By ANDREW MARRA

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Secrecy vows. Late-night meetings. Reconnaissance missions to the state Capitol.

The 33-hour student sit-in at Gov. Jeb Bush’s office this week seemed simple enough. But the weeks of planning and execution that preceded it were anything but.

A small core of Tallahassee college students met in secret for weeks, deliberating everything from the sit-in dress code and the risk of arrest to how to enter the Capitol without detection and whether to form a human chain.

Their discussions would become the genesis for the highest-profile protest in Florida’s capital in six years, all in an effort to force Bush to take direct action in the death of a 14-year-old after he was beaten at a Bay County boot camp.

The students’ protest took Tallahassee by surprise. Although it soon became clear their demands were not realistic - and they ultimately reneged on a vow to stay put until the demands were met - by the time they went home, they had focused new attention on the death of Martin Lee Anderson.

Their story, reconstructed from interviews with several participants, offers a glimpse into the meticulous planning and business-minded strategies they used to win an audience with Bush.

Nothing like a sit-in ever crossed the mind of Junior Bernadin when he heard about Anderson’s death in January.

Bernadin, 24, a Florida State University computer-engineering major, wasn’t the only college student in Tallahassee following the unfolding details of the tragedy. But few, if any, had Bernadin’s online networking skills.

Bernadin is an obsessive user of Facebook.com, a Web site for college networking. He blasted mass messages about Anderson’s death and allegations of a coverup to hundreds of students, including many of his friends at FSU, Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College.

“I’m always on it, always sending messages out,” he said.

His messages fed their concerns. Over time, enough outrage about the case festered among Bernadin’s friends in black fraternities and the local student governments that he and 12 others decided to meet one night in March to discuss it. No one knew exactly what to do. They considered a march or a conventional rally.

Then someone - no one remembers who - made a new suggestion.

“Somebody said, ‘Man, we should sit in,’ ” recalled Vanessa Badan, 20, an FSU senior.

The others liked the idea. But their decision, which they say was not influenced by Anderson’s family or their attorney, only raised more questions. How many people would participate? Where would they stage the sit-in? What would they wear? What would they say?

There were other concerns: Finals week was approaching. And a rally for Anderson’s cause was being planned.

What if they were arrested? Would they miss exams? Would they miss the rally?

They decided Bush’s office would be the target. They sought legal advice about the risk of arrest. They scoped out the Capitol.

In the last week and a half, they met every night, sometimes until past 2 a.m. They decided to wear business attire. They would be respectful. They would appoint a handful of students to do the talking.

They considered forming a human chain in the governor’s office to prevent police from removing them. Ultimately, though, they decided against it.

The students drew up their demands, including the release of Anderson’s second autopsy report, the arrests of seven guards who are seen on a video beating and kicking him, and the removal from office of Bay County’s medical examiner.

They attempted to keep the entire plan secret, fearing that if word got out, officials might prevent the sit-in.

When they had completed a battle plan, they presented it to the larger group of interested students Monday. The participants were told to study up on the facts of Anderson’s death. They were told to wear business clothes, a decision that sent at least one student scrambling to Goodwill for a $10 suit.

“Everything we did was tactical,” said France Francois, 19, an FSU sophomore. “We planned to come in with business suits. We planned to come in quietly. We didn’t want him to have any reason not to meet with us.”

When Wednesday morning came, everyone knew what to do.

Bernadin woke up at 6:30. He did some laundry, put on a black pinstriped suit and headed to the All Saints Cafe, where the group was gathering.

At the cafe, the students split into teams. They carpooled together to the Capitol and, to avoid tipping their hand, agreed to enter the building in small groups through separate entrances.

Francois’ team, a group of four or five students, walked in through the rear entrance, took an elevator to the 10th floor and awaited orders.

On other floors of the massive building, different teams were getting into position. More students remained on standby outside, ready to bring food or alert the media if the protesters were arrested.

When everyone was in position, they sent cellphone text messages to their de facto leader, Gabriel Pendas, 23, president of FSU’s student senate. A moment later, Pendas text messaged back with the go-ahead.

The teams merged in front of the governor’s office on the first floor of the Capitol. All told, there were about 35 students.

When they were ready, they stepped in together, approached a secretary and demanded to see Bush. The secretary said Bush was on his way back from a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq.

They told her that was no problem. They would wait. Then they all took a seat.