BOOKS NOT BOMBS! - National Student Strike - March 5th, 2003
WEBSITE:
http://www.nyspc.net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Worldwide Demonstrations Build Momentum for National Student Strike
Over 300 Campuses to Walkout for 'Books Not Bombs'
The National Student Strike for Books Not Bombs, will take place March 5th on campuses across the US and the world. The strike is building a wave of campus sentiment against the Bush Administration’s war plans in Iraq. The event was originally called for and is being coordinated by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (NYSPC), a collection of 15 student and youth organizations whose members organizations represent large and diverse constituencies stretching across the US.
Thousands of students on over 300 campuses have pledged their support for this day of national student resistance.
On March 5th, high school and college students will demonstrate their collective opposition to the Bush Administration's plans for a pre-emptive, unilateral war in Iraq and call for better-funded and more accessible schools. Students are also demanding that their campuses serve education instead of war by removing ROTC and JROTC and replacing them with financial aid and college preparatory programs. They call for local administrative non-compliance with and the federal repeal of the provision of the "No Child Behind Act" which forces high schools to give their students names over to military recruiters or lose federal funds.
"We demand that Bush bring our troops home now. We don't want to see our friends die in a needless war," said Amanda Flott, a junior at the University of Kansas.
Many students say that the latest round of tuition hikes and aid cuts across the country are a "war tax" on the poor. "Working class youth will have to fight and die while students at home are seeing their education undermined," said Ben Waxman, a Philadelphia area high school student. "I want to go to college, not fight for global US domination."
On Feb. 15th, the world experienced the largest outpouring of support for peace since the Vietnam era as an estimated 6 million people worldwide attended protests in over 500 cities. "Now the campuses are doing our part to stand up for a better tomorrow," said Amanda Crater, a junior at UC-Berkeley. The worldwide peace demonstrations have significantly increased awareness of and participation in the strike.
Since the initial call to action was circulated by the NYSPC, students across the world have joined on to the Books Not Bombs strike campaign. In Austraila, Spain, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Brazil, and Scotland students will be striking in solidarity with the US students. Sarah Ahmed of the Muslim Students Association said, "its the people on the streets and on the campuses across the globe who are giving UN diplomats their credibility to resist this war."
As a prepatory event, students will hold local press conferences early next week to announce their strikes and walkouts. An as-accurate-as-possible list of high schools and colleges participating in the strike will be posted at
no later than Wednesday evening, Feb. 26. See for more details including a press kit and weblinks to NYSPC member organizations.
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BOOKS NOT BOMBS! - National Student Strike - March 5th, 2003
LIST OF PARTICIPATING CAMPUSES
(Organized by state)
THIS LIST WILL BE MUCH LARGER SOON!
This list is a partial list of confirmed campuses as of 2/27/03. We
have a large backlog to post and are constantly receiving new additions
so keep checking for more. We will update as we are able.
To obtain contacts at individual campuses, or to make
corrections/additions to this list, contact clearinghouse@tao.ca
Campus Organization(s) City State/Province Country
Hendrix College STARC-180/MDE Conway AR USA
University of Arkansas Progressive Student Association Fayetteville AR USA
University of Central Arkansas Conway AR USA
Chico State Chico CA USA
Claremont Colleges Claremont Colleges Peace Coalition Pomona CA USA
De Anza College Women's Solidarity Movement Cupertino CA USA
Los Gatos High School Los Gatos CA USA
San Francisco State University San Francisco CA USA
Sierra College Associated Students of Sierra College, Sierra Students for CHANGE Grass Valley CA USA
Torrey Pines High School SPAN CA USA
UC Berkeley Berkeley Stop the War Coalition Berkeley CA USA
Colorado University Boulder CO USA
Glastonbury High School Glastonbury CT USA
Wesleyan Middleton CT USA
Howard University Amnesty Int'l Washington DC USA
University of Florida, Gainesville Global Realms, Oxfam, United Students for Fair Trade Gainesville FL USA
Iowa State University Ames IA USA
University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Moscow High School Moscow ID USA
Chicago High Schools UC Anti-War Chicago IL USA
University of Chicago Chicago IL USA
Whitney Young High School Chicago IL USA
Avon High School Avon IN USA
Indiana University Bloomington IN USA
Hampshire College MA USA
Harvard University Cambridge MA USA
Mount Holyoke College S. Hadley MA USA
Salem State College Salem MA USA
Westford Academy Westford MA USA
University of Maryland at College Park College Park MD USA
University of Michigan Anti-war Action Ann Arbor MI USA
UM-Kansas City Muslim Students Association, Campus Greens Kansas City MOI USA
Hellgate High School Missoula MT USA
Duke University Chapel Hill NC USA
Keene State College Students For Global Justice Keene NH USA
Bergen Co. High Schools Bergen Action Network Englewood Area NJ USA
Drew University Drew University Coalition for Peace, NJ Peace Action Madison NJ USA
Rutgers New Brunswick NJ USA
Galena High School Reno NV USA
Reed High Reno NV USA
Sparks High School Sparks NV USA
Truckee Meadows Community College Reno NV USA
University of Nevada at Las Vegas Las Vegas NV USA
University of Nevada, Reno Reno Anti-War Coalition Reno NV USA
Hunter College New York NY USA
Cornell Ithaca NY USA
Ithaca High School Peaceful Solutions Club Ithaca NY USA
Marymount Manhattan College New York NY USA
New School University New York NY USA
New York University NYU Peace Coalition New York NY USA
Queens College New York NY USA
Smithtown High School St. James NY USA
SUNY Albany Albany NY USA
SUNY Fredonia Fredonia Students for Peace Fredonia NY USA
SUNY-Buffalo Buffalo NY USA
Miami University of Ohio MU Students for Peace Oxford OH USA
Ohio University Athens OH USA
Oregon State University Wrench Corvallis OR USA
University of Oregon Eugene OR USA
Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg PA USA
University of Pennsylvania Penn for Peace and Penn Students Against War in Iraq Philadelphia PA USA
Middle Tennessee State University MT Solidarity Murfeesboro TN USA
University of Tennessee Knoxville TN USA
Mayde Creek High School Houston TX USA
University of North Texas Anti-War Operations League Denton TX USA
UT-Austin Campus Coalition for Peace and Justice Austin TX USA
Castleton State College Castleton VT USA
Johnson State College VSC Network Johnson VT USA
Evergreen State College Olympia WA USA
Whitman College J.U.S.T.I.C.E. Walla Walla WA USA
University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Campus Greens Green Bay WI USA
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Greens, Diversity Coalition La Crosse WI USA
University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Campus Greens & Student Environmental Peace Coalition Oshkosh WI USA
University of Wisconsin - Madison Multicultural Students Coalition Madison WI USA
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Campus Greens Whitewater WI USA
University of Utah UT USA
Asheville High School Asheville USA
El Camino College USA
Everett Alvarez High School USA
Indian Hills Junior High School USA
Montclair State-Ramopo USA
Roosevelt High School USA
Valley High School USA
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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/01/national/01STUD.html?ex=1047099600&en=c2f78a206ef08396&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
The New York Times
March 1, 2003
Student Groups Plan Walkout to Protest War
By TAMAR LEWIN
Students at hundreds of high schools and colleges nationwide are planning a walkout on Wednesday to protest the Bush administration's plans for war in Iraq.
The student strike is being coordinated by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, an organization of 15 student groups that came together after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The coalition, which calls the action "Books not Bombs," has linked student protests against war in Iraq with a call for better-financed schools.
"We're getting about 10 schools a day contacting us to participate, and it's probably about 35-40 percent high schools," said Andy Burns, an organizer who is signing up schools from his office in Little Rock, Ark.
Mr. Burns said he expected about 300 colleges and high schools to participate in the walkout.
Many of the students organizing next week's action have portrayed the latest round of tuition increases at state colleges and universities as a "war tax" on the poor.
"We're walking out of our classes because it's completely ridiculous that students in Iraq, who are exactly the same as us, will have to face the consequences of a unilateral war," said Amanda Flott, a University of Kansas student who is a spokeswoman for the coalition. "Also, at a time when many students are already priced out of higher education, the increase in funding for the military will decrease the money available for education, all to support a war that in my mind is not justifiable."
From Chico State University in California to Castleton State College in Vermont, students are planning a variety of events for the walkout, including antiwar rallies and a mock election, with ballots to be sent to Congress on which protesters can cast votes against the war and for education.
The coalition said that student groups in Australia, Spain, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Brazil and Scotland were organizing strikes in solidarity with the American students.
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