Demonstrators decry Clinique

Question cosmetics' place in Book Store and Amy Lipman Ever since the Clinique counter opened at The Book Store in March, Penn students have been seeing red -- Truly Red, Brava Red and Poppy Red, among others. And the approximately 15 demonstrators who protested the makeup counter Friday said they were tired of seeing lipstick shades outnumber the the Women's Studies texts sold in The Book Store. "The priorities are screwy here," College junior Clare Bayard said. Bayard was one of a group of eight students who helped make the demonstration a reality -- after some lengthy planning. But oddly enough, this group did not come together with the goal of protesting cosmetics, or even women's issues. They just wanted to protest?something. College junior Elliott Whitney explained that he and a few of his friends had been discussing the fact that Penn students today are simply not passionate about political issues. They met for a three-week period, discussing issues and hoping to pinpoint exactly what problem needed to be addressed the most. Their answer? The Book Store's objectification of women. "It was the most glaring problem," Whitney said. He said he hoped that the protest would serve as an "awareness-raising event." "We are looking to make people think about something -- an issue -- from several different angles, in ways that they might not already think," Whitney said. The demonstration was organized as a "dual protest." One group argued for "Books Not Blush," Whitney said. Another "facetious" counter-protest, also organized by the students, complained about the lack of cosmetics availability on campus, calling for "Lipstick Not Linguistics." The event, which lasted for about two hours, took on elements of street theater. The students wore unusual costumes and often switched their factions. Anti-cosmetics protesters called out "We want a book store, not a look store," while the "facetious" protesters' battle cry was "Two-four-six-eight, we came to Penn to get a mate." The students also hurled insults at the other side, telling the anti-cosmetics protesters that they were ugly. Some protesters pretended to cry, and at one point, a mock fight broke out between two demonstrators. Passersby were less than impressed, however. "I think this demonstration is more ridiculous than putting a Clinique counter in the middle of The Book Store," College junior Sabrina Flaum said. "This is hilarious," said Wharton senior Gil Beverly, adding sarcastically that "the intellectual level of this debate is overwhelming." But others admired the protesters' conviction. "I guess they're getting their point across," College junior Ines Rodriguez said. "People are stopping to listen." And this was the protesters' goal, Whitney said. "We just want people to think about an issue," he said. "If they come to the conclusion that makeup belongs in an Ivy League book store, then something, in my opinion, is wrong in society. Answers will not come at the protest. The means to answering questions will come."

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