It was an evening of tense conflict between community members in the audience and meeting organizers behind the podium.

The spokespersons for a proposed future naval academy in Senn High School, a public school in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, were patient as first, remaining silent until the jeers and booing quieted down. Patience slowly ran thin and the shouting continued. "Keep the military out of our schools!" followed by a loud eruption of applause and cheering.

Students could be seen everywhere, surrounding the auditorium with posters exclaiming, "No Navy" and "Save Senn." The chaos was just beginning.

The naval spokespersons remained patient and attempted to show a film, apparently a gimmick flick to coerce the people into believing that a naval academy in on Chicago's northside would be the solution to all their problems. To tonight's audience, the Navy is the problem. Shortly after the movie began, the entire audience--a packed auditorium--turned around and faced the back of the room in a symbolic act of protest. This seemed the last straw for the Navy's spokespeople. They put on their coats, grabbed their briefcases, and stormed out of the building.

The students, faculty, and community members in attendance got what they wanted, at least for the moment: the Navy out of Senn High School.

view photographs: http://chicago.indymedia.org/media/education/display/12403