{"article":{"id":34933,"heading":"March 5: Coast to Coast Walkout Against the War","author":"Revolutionary Worker","created":"2003-03-12 00:35:48","modified":"2005-08-15 01:15:20","last_modified":"Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:15:20","article":"<p>RW ONLINE: Coast to Coast: Walkout Against the War\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMarch 5\r\nCoast to Coast: Walkout Against the War\r\n<\/p><p><i>Revolutionary Worker #1191, March 16, 2003, <\/i>posted at rwor.org<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><i>\r\n<\/i><p>\"On March 5 the youth and students made history. I don't think ever before in \r\nthe history of this country has this kind of resistance been mounted before a \r\nwar starts by people this young. The youth have nothing to lose and everything \r\nto gain. They dream of a better world and dare to bring that better world into \r\nbeing.\"<\/p>\r\n<p align=\"right\">Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade member in S.F. Bay \r\nArea<\/p>\r\n<p>On March 5, tens of thousands of students walked out at hundreds of high \r\nschool and college campuses around the country to say \"NO!\" to the U.S. war on \r\nIraq.<\/p>\r\n<p>This day of protest and resistance was beautiful, powerful, and truly \r\nhistoric.<\/p>\r\n<p>Some media reports described the day as the largest school protests since the \r\nVietnam War.<\/p>\r\n<p>March 5 was the day of the National Moratorium to Stop the War on Iraq, \r\ncalled by a coalition of groups and individuals opposed to the war, and the \r\n\"Books Not Bombs\" National Student Strike called by the National Youth and \r\nStudent Peace Coalition. The two calls converged into an incredible day of \r\naction against the U.S. war.<\/p>\r\n<p>From New York City to the West Coast cities to countless places in between, \r\npeople took action in diverse ways--quiet, loud, disruptive, and creative. \r\nReligious people acted on their conviction to voice their opposition to Bush and \r\nthe war machine. People found different ways to express their anti-war stand at \r\ntheir workplaces.<\/p>\r\n<p>But it was the youth, especially high school students, who really seized the \r\nday. Over 70 high schools, middle schools, and colleges in the Los Angeles area \r\nalone saw walkouts and other anti-war actions. In New York City, more than 3,000 \r\nhigh school students walked out of classes. \r\n<\/p><p>Some walkouts involved hundreds of students--in some cases a handful of \r\nstudents bravely stepped forward. At some high schools, administrators, \r\nteachers, and parents supported the kids who protested. At others, students \r\nwalked out in the face of threats and punishment from authorities.<\/p>\r\n<p>At a time when the U.S. government is sending hundreds of thousands of young \r\nmen and women to the Persian Gulf to fight and die in an unjust and illegitimate \r\nwar--youth across the country demanded a <i>different future,<\/i>and took a \r\nstand with the people of the world. And they were acting together with students \r\naround the globe. There were reports of protests by students and others \r\nthroughout Australia, Canada, and England; in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; \r\nParis, France; Damascus, Syria; Dakar, Senegal; and elsewhere.<\/p>\r\n<p>At a time when the power structure is whipping up hatred against immigrants \r\nand people of other countries, the sense of diversity <i>and <\/i>unity on March \r\n5 was truly inspiring. A Black college student in Philadelphia said, \"Everywhere \r\nin the media and society they preach separation. But I look around and see all \r\nof us, of different nationalities and different backgrounds, all here together. \r\nThis is beautiful.\"<\/p>\r\n<p>And at a time when Bush and Company seem deaf to the expressed will of \r\nmillions around the U.S. and the world--the youth made clear their sense of \r\nurgency and determination to stop the war.<\/p>\r\n<p>In their own call for the March 5 Moratorium, two high school students in Los \r\nAngeles wrote:<\/p>\r\n<p><i>As we stand facing the greatest terror this planet has ever seen, we must \r\nrise as citizens of the world, united with one voice to say, `Not In Our Name.' \r\nOver the past two months students have taken to the streets, walking out of \r\nclass, building a movement strong enough to affect the course of history. We \r\nhave been threatened with expulsions, suspensions, and detentions. But even in \r\nthe face of these consequences, we the youth refuse to sit by and watch America \r\ndeal its card of death to the world. There comes a time in everyone's life to \r\nthrow a wrench into the workings of injustice. This is our time.\"<\/i><\/p>\r\n<p align=\"center\">****<\/p>\r\n<p><i>The RW received the following reports on March 5 anti-war actions in \r\nseveral cities:<\/i><\/p><i>\r\n<\/i><p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b><\/b>\r\n<p><b><i><\/i><\/b><b>New York City<\/b><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><i>The following was reported by our correspondent Osage.<\/i> <\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Many of the high school and college students who took part in the day \r\nconverged at noon at Union Square. Students came from Manhattan, Long Island, \r\nBrooklyn, the Bronx, New Jersey--from about 30 different schools, both public \r\nand private, and from fifth grade to college level. Some came with parents and \r\nsome with their teachers. The majority were middle and high school students, and \r\nmost of them had never been to a protest before.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>To get there, they faced cynical teachers, lecturing principals, and threats \r\nof lowered grades, suspension, and even expulsion. The principal at a Brooklyn \r\nschool announced over the loudspeaker the day before that walking out was \r\nforbidden. When one student's mother called in to say that she gave her daughter \r\npermission to walk out, the school threatened to report her to the Board of \r\nEd.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>A girl from a Catholic school in Westchester County skipped out on her Morals \r\nand Ethics final because she just <i>had <\/i>to be at the rally. She said: \r\n\"Students need to get their priorities straight.\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>The crowd was bursting with excitement--loud cheers and absolute joy that we \r\nhad pulled this off. Students came in groups, doubling the attendance over and \r\nover until we filled the square. Homemade signs were everywhere. One great sign \r\nsaid \"Friends Don't Let Friends Enlist.\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Some 400 NYU students marched over from their rally to join us at Union \r\nSquare. The youth flooded the stage to speak out.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>People expressed a variety of reasons for opposing the war: no blood for oil; \r\ninnocent Iraqi people would suffer; money being cut from schools to pay for war; \r\nkids sent to kill and be killed for an unjust war. You could hear kids \r\ndiscussing what kind of resistance is needed and how to get many more people \r\njoin us.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>One of the most powerful speakers was a student of Uruguayan origin who \r\ndropped some knowledge about what the U.S. is really about. He said many of his \r\nfather's friends had been \"disappeared\" in Uruguay in the 1970s for opposing a \r\nU.S.-installed dictator: \"I say `fuck off' to anyone who tells me they're \r\nfighting [this war] for my freedom because if it was up to the U.S. government, \r\nmy dad would be dead.\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Other speakers included Joe Urgo, with the Not In Our Name project, and Carl \r\nDix, National Spokesperson for the RCP--both Vietnam veterans. The ACLU's Donna \r\nLieberman, Youth Bloc, Ati from the RCYB, and several poets also took the \r\nstage.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>I saw a young man dressed in an ROTC uniform, standing at the back apart from \r\nthe crowd. He wasn't there to make a pro-war statement. He said he was 18 and \r\nwas not sure why he had joined the ROTC. He thinks many of the ROTC members in \r\nhis school do not want to go to war.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>An 8th grader--a 13-year-old woman from an Upper East Side middle \r\nschool--told an <i>RW <\/i>reporter, \"I lost an uncle on 9\/11 and I know he \r\nwouldn't have wanted his death to cause others' deaths.\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Two very lonely pro-war girls from a Westchester County high school said they \r\nfelt they had to come because most of their school walked out against the war, \r\nand they felt someone had to support Bush. A woman from Argentina argued with \r\nthem, speaking bitterness about what the U.S. has done to Latin America.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>As the rally ended, several hundred youth started a march to Hunter College. \r\nChanting, \"We dance together for peace,\" they began snaking their way uptown. \r\nMany also took the \"peace train\" (subway cars filled with students speaking out) \r\nup to Hunter College, where the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition had \r\norganized a rally. Others went to Brooklyn, where a Rally and Represent concert \r\nwas happening in association with Not In Our Name, with performers such as \r\nAnti-Balas and DJ Rekha.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>As it grew dark, we joined a 40-block candlelight march filled with beautiful \r\ndrumming and chanting organized by United for Peace and Justice. The march and \r\nthe night culminated with a rally at Washington Square, where youth read poetry \r\nand rhymes and comedian Reno performed. Speakers included Leslie Cagan of UFPJ, \r\nNY City Council member Bill Perkins, Mary Lou Greenberg speaking for NION, \r\nSister Arlene Flaherty (who just returned from a visit to Iraq with Code Pink), \r\nand Rev. Vernon Williams.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>The next night we sat and watched as Bush said on TV that war could start \r\nsoon. So much is at stake for them--global domination and military\/economic \r\nsuperiority. And so much is at stake for us--a world free from all this horror. \r\nWe must be bold. We must be creative and we must be determined. Because the \r\nfuture of the world really does depend on it.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p>San Francisco\/Oakland<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>An amazing uprising of students was the cutting edge of protests that erupted \r\nin every corner of the SF Bay Area. Students walked out of schools, took over \r\nthe streets, blocked traffic, shut down army recruiters, got busted - and made \r\nit onto the front page of the local papers.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>In Oakland, office workers shouted \"we're proud of you\" as hundreds of \r\nstudents, mostly Black youth, took over downtown streets. In San Francisco, a \r\nbus driver shut down his bus, turned on his \"out of service\" sign, and got out \r\nto support youth who occupied a downtown intersection for over an hour.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Students from over a dozen East Bay schools broke out, and, in many cases, \r\nwalked miles to converge at Oakland's central plaza. At Oakland High School, \r\nadministrators locked gates in violation of fire safety rules and students had \r\nto climb over fences to join the protest. Students at private Arrowsmith Academy \r\nin Berkeley defied threats of suspension. Proletarian youth from Oakland's \r\n\"continuation\" school (for students expelled from other schools) marched next to \r\nyouth from private and Catholic schools. Alternative youth with dyed hair from \r\nLaney College hooked up with inner city youth from the Oakland Social Justice \r\nAcademy.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Hundreds of youth took over the streets and marched the length of downtown \r\nOakland to the docks at Jack London Square. The Oakland police drove motorcycles \r\ninto the crowd and arrested a Not In Our Name protest organizer and two \r\nreporters for the Bay View newspaper (a voice of the Black community in San \r\nFrancisco's Hunter's Point district). The students made it through police \r\nroadblocks to march back to downtown.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At the rally, a young woman grabbed a bullhorn and called out each school \r\npresent to wild cheers from the crowd. Challenging other youth to step up and \r\nspeak out, she said, \"We're walking out today to represent against the war, cuz \r\nwe don't want it! Basically we don't want Bush at all... Keep up the dream, make \r\nthe war go away! Iraq don't want it, and we don't want it!\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>A young Black man from Laney College said, \"How can Bush talk about terrorism \r\nin another country when we still got it over here. They got the KKK. We ain't \r\ngot no jobs out here. Nothin'! We don't have nothing. Then we gotta go try to \r\nhandle other people's problems when we can't handle our own? We need a voice \r\ncoming from our people.\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At least 18 high schools, middle schools, colleges and universities walked \r\nout and convened all over San Francisco. A NION organizer described the scene as \r\nyouth took over the streets in downtown: \"Students from Lowell High and the \r\nSchool Of The Arts (SOTA) led an incredible charge of up to 1,500 youth through \r\nthe streets. Some hooked up at the Civic Center, some at Embarcadero, some at \r\nPowell and Market.\" Over 1,000 students blockaded the doors of City Hall for an \r\nhour and held a speak-out. Then 400-500 headed up to the Federal Building for \r\nanother rally. Students sat down in major intersections and shut down traffic; \r\n20 youth and two adults were arrested downtown, including a NION organizer.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Several Bay Area universities had walkouts and teach-ins. Students at SF \r\nState occupied an intersection for half an hour. Hundreds of students rallied at \r\nUC Berkeley. At Stanford, up to 1,000 students and dozens of professors held \r\noutdoor teach-ins and discussions of the war. Students walked out at City \r\nCollege of San Francisco and Laney College in Oakland. A teach-in with music and \r\ntheater was held at Mills College, a private women's college in Oakland.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Students from high schools and colleges in Sonoma County joined up with \r\nantiwar activists to shut down the military recruiting station in Santa Rosa for \r\ntwo hours--12 people were arrested. At Cal State Sacramento, 60 to 80 people \r\nmarched on campus. In Arcata, in Humboldt County, more than 100 high school \r\nstudents walked out of school. In Santa Cruz, activists from the Santa Cruz \r\nPeacemakers of the Resource Center for Nonviolence blocked entrances to the \r\nmilitary recruiting station and forced them to close down.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>The 80,000-member San Francisco Central Labor Council endorsed the March 5 \r\nMoratorium to Stop the War in Iraq. Banners were hung across many freeway \r\nbridges at morning and afternoon rush hours. Several organizations took \r\nresponsibility to create \"No War Zones,\" where people could pick up signs and \r\nmaterials. Bay Area United Against the War passed out signs and leaflets all \r\nday. The People's Non-violent Response Committee organized a Candlelight Vigil \r\nin Oakland, and marched to the Islamic Cultural Center for a gathering where the \r\nPledge of Resistance was read. The Buddhist Peace Fellowship in Berkeley opened \r\ntheir center all day for people to use their fax and phones to call Bush or \r\nother politicians to express opposition to the war. At St. Mary's Cathedral in \r\nSan Francisco the Archbishop quoted Pope John Paul's message against the war and \r\nmentioned the student walkouts. Two nuns read the NION Pledge of Resistance at \r\nthe end of the service. The Japanese-American religious federation Soko Bukai \r\nheld a press conference against the war and the round-ups of immigrants.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p>Los Angeles<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>There were walkouts and other antiwar actions at over 70 L.A.-area high \r\nschools, middle schools, colleges and universities. The actions were wild and \r\nbeautiful, cool, determined and defiant. They were carried out in the face of \r\ndays of threats and attempted intimidation from school authorities and up \r\nagainst brutal cops.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Near Fairfax High in west L.A., the LAPD stopped anybody that looked young, \r\nto try and stop kids from leaving school. At noon, several hundred students of \r\nall nationalities walked out and marched down Fairfax Ave. Five blocks later \r\nthey met up with 50 students from Marlborough School. They were joined at a \r\nconvergence point by students from LACES, the L.A. Center for Enriched Studies, \r\nand 100 out of the 120 students at the L.A. Leadership Academy. Over 500 strong, \r\nthey marched around the inter-section for hours. Some teachers and \r\nadministrators joined them, including a teacher who took his class there as a \r\nfield trip. The protest moved up to Wilshire Blvd., a main street; a large \r\ncontingent stayed all afternoon and marched six miles across town to a 4:00 \r\nconvergence near UCLA.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Hundreds rallied at Venice High, Hamilton in West L.A. and Garfield in East \r\nL.A. There were convergence points set up all over the city, so students from \r\ndifferent schools could come together. Sixty students walked out of Belmont in \r\nthe Central American barrio of Pico-Union and marched to Parker Center, the LAPD \r\nheadquarters where they found 150 students from Lincoln High and another 200 \r\nfrom Bravo Magnet School. They all went to the old-town plaza known as La \r\nPlacita and rallied together, with entertainment provided by a group of Aztec \r\ndancers.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>In the San Fernando Valley area, at Taft over 100 students gathered on campus \r\nas security guards took their photos, threatening to suspend them.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At San Fernando High, the school was surrounded by LAPD and school police \r\ncars. Administrators chained all the exits and blocked them with their bodies. \r\nTwo dozen protesters started marching around the school. At every gated entrance \r\nas many as 100 students waited for the protesters. When those outside called on \r\nothers to walk out, many did.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Youth inside ran through authorities to get stickers and fliers. A few \r\nclimbed the fence and joined the march. Everyone inside was debating the \r\nwalkout, the war, what they should do. Students headed to a convergence point \r\nwhere they were joined by students from Sylmar, supposedly their arch-rivals, \r\nand they protested together.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>There were walkouts and campus protests at Canoga Park, El Camino, Grant, Van \r\nNuys, Burroughs and Burbank High Schools. There were walkouts in outlying areas \r\nof South Pasadena, Alhambra, and Rialto.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>From 1,500 to 2,000 people showed up at a rally at the UCLA campus. They were \r\njoined by 100 students who walked out of Peninsula High School. Professors \r\ncontributed money and joined the crowd. Speakers included the Muslim Students \r\nAssociation, MEChA, African Students Union and Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB \r\n--Pro-People Youth). A crowd of 600 marched through campus, ending up at the \r\nadministration building for another rally. Dozens of students from Marymount \r\nHigh School marched up to a wild reception. That night, there was a free concert \r\nfeaturing Medusa and Burning Star.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Over 200 started to march around Westwood Village, a restaurant and shopping \r\narea next to the UCLA campus. Protesters chanted, \"Rise up!--with the people of \r\nthe world\" and did die-ins at four intersections. At the Westwood Federal \r\nBuilding, there were LAPD cars and a line of Highway Patrol cops on motorcycles. \r\nAfter another die-in, the cops started ripping signs out of people's hands. The \r\ncrowd did another die-in before marching off into the night.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Five colleges in Orange County had protests. In L.A. County, 1,000 students \r\nrallied at Glendale Community College. In eastern L.A. County there were \r\nday-long protests at the Claremont Colleges, which was also a convergence point \r\nfor area high schools. Other protests occurred at the California Institute of \r\nthe Arts, Mt. San Antonio College, and the University of Southern \r\nCalifornia.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At Santa Monica College 300 students blocked Pico Boulevard with a die-in and \r\n1,000 people attended a teach-in. Later the students did another die-in, up \r\nagainst cops in riot gear, and then 150 marched for several miles.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At California State University Northridge, 15 students went to the school \r\nwith bullhorns, signs and banners. One of them told the<i> RW <\/i>, \"We were \r\nwalking down halls, knocking on classroom doors, screaming, `Walk out!' \r\nProfessors were just going, `forget it, I'm canceling classes, leave,' and kids \r\nwere just walking out with us.\" The protest grew to about 300 students.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>In Santa Barbara County, there were rallies and die-ins at UC Santa Barbara \r\nand a walkout at San Marcos High School. In Ventura County, 150 students walked \r\nout of classes at Ventura High and were joined by 100 others at lunchtime. In \r\nthe afternoon, 200 rallied at a park. In Ojai, 20 students walked out of \r\nNordhoff High, despite threats from the administration. At St. Bonaventure, in \r\nVentura, 200 walked out and held a silent vigil. Several teachers dismissed \r\nclasses, urging their students to attend the protest.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p>Seattle<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>2,000 people converged for a rally called by NION and the Muslim Student \r\nAssociation Northwest. Students representing 42 Seattle-area schools left class \r\nor \"called in sick\" to take part. Across the state other campuses held walkouts \r\nand teach-ins. Workers called in sick or walked out. One Seattle law firm shut \r\ndown--their voicemail that day said they were closed to join the day of protest. \r\nIn Spokane, 10 protesters were arrested when they blocked the front gate of the \r\nFairchild Air Force Base. Antiwar vigils and actions were held in many Seattle \r\nneighborhoods as well as Yakima, Washington and other cities.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Youth from all grades took anti-war actions--from elementary schools to \r\ngraduate programs. Important alliances developed between educators and youth to \r\noppose the war. In one middle school, 200 out of the school's 360 students (with \r\nthe principal's help) walked out. Parents showed support by writing permission \r\nslips; some came to help. Some students faced suspension, but walked out anyway. \r\nA woman from Cornish School of Arts said, \"We were out at 9 a.m. this morning, \r\nand we came together with the understanding, the belief, the truth, that \r\nindividuals who have convictions that unite together for the cause of peace \r\ncannot fail. We will win!\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Shoreline Community College in north Seattle has a large international \r\nstudent population and growing antiwar sentiment. Students Against the War and \r\nThe Muslim Students Association held a teach-in featuring speakouts, hip-hop \r\nperformances, poetry readings and forums.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>All over the city students walked out or didn't show up for class. One group \r\nof students hooked up with a crew at another high school, then went on to a \r\nthird high school to get more kids. 50 in total walked over to the Seattle \r\nCentral Community College (SCCC) campus, where hundreds of people gathered \r\nbefore going downtown.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Downtown, about 100 youth staged a die-out. The rally started with the tape \r\nof Saul Williams reading the NION Pledge of Resistance--to a wild reception. \r\nStudents represented their schools by coming on stage and giving a shout-out. \r\nOne high school student said, \"We're here to say that yes we DO care and just \r\n'cause we're not 18 it doesn't mean we don't. We've got a voice and we're gonna \r\nuse it!\" All day there were speakers and music. Labor unions, war veterans, \r\nrevolutionary communists, Palestinian rights organizations, antiwar neighborhood \r\ngroups, Muslim students and others spoke out against the war and repression.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Students from the islands that dot Puget Sound took ferries to be at the \r\ndemo. From the stage, a young woman from a rural middle school on Vashon Island \r\nsaid, \"Though I'm just a little girl, from a little school, in a little \r\ncommunity, I want to let Bush know that I care about my future and the world I \r\ngrow into. This is <i>his <\/i>war, not ours!\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p>Chicago<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Students at over 30 high schools and colleges in the Chicago area held \r\nteach-ins, staged die-ins and mock funerals, and walked out of school. A \r\nthousand students--a third of the total school enrollment--marched around \r\nEvanston Township High School and stopped traffic on the streets. At Oak \r\nPark-River Forest high school, 450 students--a sixth of the total student \r\nbody--walked out. One thousand people took part in a teach-in at the University \r\nof Chicago.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At the end of the day, more than 1,500 rallied in downtown Chicago. Hundreds \r\nof youth stood together with veteran activists and others. That mix was \r\nreflected on the stage--with speakers ranging from student representatives to \r\nRev. Jesse Jackson. Then people took to the streets in a rush-hour march though \r\ndowntown.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p><b>\r\n<\/b><p>Cleveland<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>Throughout the day there were many different kinds of activities. About 40 \r\nstudents walked out of Avon Lake high school, in a Cleveland suburb, and \r\ndemonstrated at an Army recruitment station, chanting \"ROTC, you won't recruit \r\nme, I won't kill innocent Iraqis!\"<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>At 3 p.m., over 200 students converged on Public Square in downtown \r\nCleveland. Students from at least six high schools walked out and came downtown. \r\nThere were also students from CATALYST (an organization for social justice at \r\nCase Western Reserve University), Cleveland State University, and Cleveland \r\nInstitute of Art. High school and college students spoke out. There were other \r\nspeakers from CATALYST, Burning River Revolutionary Anarchist Collective, and \r\nthe Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>After a collective reading of the Not In Our Name Pledge of Resistance, the \r\nyouth poured into the streets, disrupting traffic during rush hour.<\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<\/p><p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<\/p><p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<p>\r\n<\/p><hr>\r\n\r\n<p>\r\n<\/p><p>This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary Worker \r\nOnline<br>rwor.org<br>Write: Box 3486, \r\nMerchandise Mart, Chicago, IL 60654<br>Phone: 773-227-4066 Fax: \r\n773-227-4497<br><\/p>\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"www.rwor.org","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"There were walkouts and other antiwar actions at over 70 L.A.-area high schools, middle schools, colleges and universities. The actions were wild and beautiful, cool, determined and defiant. ","numcomment":1,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2003\/03\/coast_to_coast_walkout_against_the_war.htm","filesize":"27.1 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2003\/03\/34933.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":34957,"heading":"Victoria BC, canada was in on that.","article":"We said &quot;No to War&quot;, and walked out of class.\r\n\r\nHere are the files.\r\n\r\nA poster & audio files.\r\n\r\nThat's right, you get to hear what it sounded like.!\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/victoria.indymedia.org\/news\/2003\/03\/12314.php\r\n(speaches before the dancing)\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/victoria.indymedia.org\/news\/2003\/03\/12324.php\r\n\r\n(final speaches )\r\n\r\nThanks to all\r\n\r\ngroove on...","author":"ted...","parent_id":34933,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2003-03-12 03:08:18","modified":"2003-03-12 03:08:18","fileurl":""}]}