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Books Triumph over Bombs
an article by Joe Yannielli
At noon on March 5th, 2003, nearly 200 students at
Wesleyan University stood in a sea of mud and under a blanket of
freezing rain to make one message clear: Students reject the culture of
war. We were cold and wet, but our spirits were high.
Although
we didn't realize it at the time, we stood in solidarity with over 400
high school and college campuses worldwide. Our rally was part of an
International Student Strike against war with Iraq, dubbed "Books Not
Bombs" by its organizers, The National Youth and Student Peace
Coalition. The March 5th actions united an estimated 50,000 students
for education and against military spending.
The path to the
student strike was a difficult one. At Wesleyan, our president
published an article in a local newspaper after hearing of the action,
begging students not to "Politicize the Academy." Students and
professors refused to accept an academic strike as an effective way to
promote education. Many cited the strikes of the Vietnam War era,
saying that times were different then and that a student strike now
would be out of place.
Nevertheless, through dialogue and a
massive publicity campaign, we convinced many that the already
underfunded school system would suffer a near-fatal blow if the U.S.
decided to bungle headfirst into a second Iraq war. Why should
educational programs be cut and tuition in public schools raised as
much as 60% so that our government has an easier time killing thousands
of women, children, and fellow studentsin Iraq? Why should we continue
as if nothing was wrong while our government teeters on the edge of
this insanity?
The response was overwhelming. At Wesleyan,
groups advocating women's rights, the environment, black and latino
awareness, ethnic studies, and peaceful resolutions rallied as a united
bloc. A large group of students from nearby Middletown High School
joined in, under risk of suspension. Afterwards, professors opened
their classes up and brought war with Iraq into the classroom dialogue.
Hundreds of other high schools and colleges across the country held
similar actions and teach-ins. At the University of Michigan, 2,000
students boycotted their classes. Los Angeles area schools had a strike
rate of almost 20%. And 30,000 students in Australia alone brought the
strike to the international community's attention.
Surely, this
level of militancy and awareness among students has helped postpone war
thus far. And, as long as the momentum remains, we have hope for a
peaceful and democratic resolution. For more information and ways you
can help build the movement: www.nyspc.net.
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DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
Can such student strikes be effective?
What else can students do to promote peace?
As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of
this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the
question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also
enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.
Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
MARCHES AND PROTESTS
LATEST READER COMMENT:
NATIONAL YOUTH AND STUDENT PEACE COALITION
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, March 3, 2004
CONTACT:
National Youth and Student Peace Coalition national spokespeople:
Jason Fults, (215) 222-4711,
seac@seac.org
Jessie Marshall, (646) 643-7702,
Jessica.M.Marshall.01
@Alum.Dartmouth.org
Grassroots spokespeople:
(Austin, TX) Brent Perdue, (512) 736-6852,
brent@notwithourmoney.org
(Chicago, IL) Dan Lichtenstein-Boris, (773) 505-2579,
dwlb@uchicago.edu
(Des Moines, IA) Jay Kozel, (515) 255-6876,
desvalido@aol.com
********************
COMMUNITIES WITH PLANNED MARCH 4 BOOKS NOT BOMBS DAY OF ACTION EVENTS
Below
are communities where the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition
knows youth and students are organizing events to challenge Bush to
focus on
the needs of students and youth. For specific details on local actions, please contact Jason Fults at (215) 222-4711 or
State Location
AZ Tucson High
CA San Francisco, CA
CA Arcata, CA
CA California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA Chabot College; Hayward, CA
CA San Diego
CA UC Berkeley
CT Yale University
CT Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
DC Washington, DC
FL University of FL
IA Des Moines, IA
ID Boise State University -Idaho
IL Chicago, IL
IN Notre Dame
KS Shawnee-Mission South HS - suburb of KC
LA Louisiana State University -Baton Rouge
MA Harvard University
MA Boston College
MI University of Michigan
MI Grand Valley State University; Allendale
MN/WI Northland, Minnesota and Wisconsin
MO St. Louis, MO
MO University of Missouri -- Kansas City
NC North Carolina State University
NC Duke University
NJ New Brunswick, NJ
NM University of New Mexico
NY Syracuse, NY
NY NY, NY
NY Fordham University
NY Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, NY
NY Buffalo St./Students for Peace
NY NYU
NY SUNY-Orange, Middletown
OH Wright State University; Dayton, OH
PA Philadelphia, PA
PA Westminster College, Wilmington, PA
PA Cedar Crest College; Allentown
PA Orwigsburg, PA
TX University of TX-Austin
TX University of St. Thomas; Houston, TX
TX University of Texas - Arlington
TX O'Connor; San Antonio
VA James Madison University, Harrisonburg Virginia
VT AFSC-VT
WI Un. of Wisconsin-Madison
WI Un. of Wisconsin-Osh Kosh
WI Un.. . ...more.
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