Durango, CO Protest & March Against the Iraq War

On Friday, March 21st, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq, Animas SDS (the Fort Lewis College [Durango, CO] chapter of Students for a Democratic Society), Southwest Colorado Peace & Justice Coalition, and a broad coalition of students, youth, and community members will march in opposition to and resistance against the Iraq war, and all imperialist wars of the rich against the poor. Students are called to walk out of class at 3:30 PM. We will converge at Buckley Park (12th Street & Main Avenue) at 4 PM, march down Main Street to the Train Station and back at 4:30, and continue our demonstration at Buckley Park upon our return. Join us! Bring appropriate clothing, signs, banners, flags, musical instruments, your friends, family, and lovers, and your indomitable spirit of resistance! See you there!

SDS Call to Action for 5th Anniversary of Iraq War

For Immediate Release

February 4, 2008

Students for a Democratic Society March 20 Working Group

Contact: march20sds@gmail.com

Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other student and youth organizations from around the country, from the North East to the Mid West, from North Carolina and Alabama to Washington and Colorado, will be participating in a call to hold rallies, marches, walkouts, direct actions and other activities on campuses during the week of March 17th to 21st, marking the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war.

The SDS call to action says, "Every year, there have been protests marking the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that was launched on the basis of lies and deceit. Students have historically had an especially important role in the struggles against racism and war, and we continue to do so today. Last March, over 80 high schools and colleges answered the call by chapters of Students for a Democratic Society to come together to send one loud resounding NO to the Bush administration and the Republican agenda, to the Democrats who refuse to carry out the mandate of their constituents, and to the University administrations that so often support war efforts."

Organizers are hard at work on their campuses and in their communities building powerful campaigns against this illegal and unjust war against the Iraqi people. More groups are signing on to call daily. "We want as many people as possible to join us in this protest," the call reads, "the larger the protest the stronger the impact we have, and the sooner we can help end this war. We are calling on any and all student and youth based organizations that are opposed to the war in Iraq to mobilize their memberships, their campus, their community and hit the streets for the week of March 17-21, with March 20 as the focal point."

Tamara Tal, graduate student at UNC and organizer with UNC-Chapel Hill SDS, said, "UNC-Chapel Hill SDS is reaching out to over thirty student organizations, along with campus workers and faculty, in order to build a broad coalition to protest the war on the fifth anniversary of the invasion. Last year, five hundred students walked out of class and marched through downtown Chapel Hill, shutting down traffic with the message of 'no more business as usual'. This year, we're raising the stakes and bringing that message home to the university: we want the university administration to cut their ties with war profiteers and Army research labs."

In Asheville, NC, the UNC-Asheville Chapter of SDS is working with local community organizations like Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) to build a large rally and march downtown following a walkout on their campus. Asheville IVAW president, Jason Hurd, said, "I have worked with SDS on a number of occasions and found them to be some of the most intelligent organizers in the anti-war movement. My chapter and I fully support SDS's efforts to organize for the 5th anniversary of the war."

At Rutgers – New Brunswick, the Tent State/SDS chapter is working with many other campus organizations to build toward a mass walkout which promises to be bigger and bolder than last year's, which culminated in a march onto a local highway.

"We're working with a very diverse coalition of student groups, but we're also trying our hardest to reach out to students who aren't involved – which is to say most of the campus. We're organizing in the dorms, in the classrooms, at parties, and on the quad – just trying to get as many people as possible involved in actively participating in the event," said Tent State/SDS organizer Timothy Horras. "In 2007 we had about 400 students at the event, but if we really organize our base and reach deep into the student population I think we can far exceed last year in terms of both numbers and militancy."

As of now, 29 SDS chapters and progressive groups have signed onto the call:

• UNC-Asheville SDS
• UNC-Chapel Hill SDS
• Tacoma SDS
• University of Minnesota – Twin Cities SDS
• Drew University SDS
• Animas SDS at Fort Lewis College (Durango, CO)
• Eleanor Roosevelt High School SDS
• University of Georgia
• New York City MDS
• New York City FIST
• UNC-Charlotte SDS
• University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa SDS
• University of Illinois Chicago SDS and Students for Justice in Palestine
• Central Dauphin SDS (Harrisburg, PA)
• The College of New Jersey
• Gainesville SDS
• Eastern Illinois University SDS
• Columbus, OH World Can't Wait
• Rutgers University – Tent State University / SDS
• University Central Florida SDS / MDS
• Tuscarura High School SDS, Frederick MD
• War Resisters League, Staten Island NY
• Asheville High School
• Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
• Michigan State University Green Party
• University of North Dakota SDS
• George Mason University SDS (VA)
• Athens SDS (OH)
• James Madison University SDS (VA)

The call was also endorsed at the recent Midwest and Southeast SDS Regional Conventions, and resolution supporting organizing mass student protests against the U.S. occupation of Iraq was passed at the Northeast Regional Convention in Philadelphia. In addition, the call has been endorsed by Fight Imperialism Stand Together, Our Spring Break, Iraq Media Action Project, and Iraq Veterans Against the War (Asheville, NC chapter).

For more information see:

march20sds.wordpress.com

www.newsds.org/march20

~

For Immediate Release

January 17, 2008

Students for a Democratic Society March 20 Working Group

march20sds at gmail.com

Chapters of Students for a Democratic Society and other student and youth organizations from around the country, from the Southeast to the Northwest, will be participating in a call to hold rallies, marches, walkouts and direct actions on campuses during the week of March 17th to 21st, marking the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.

This historic call to action says, "Every year, there have been protests marking the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that was launched on the basis of lies and deceit. Students have historically had an especially important role in the struggles against racism and war, and we continue to do so today. Last March, over 80 high schools and colleges answered the call by chapters of Students for a Democratic Society to come together to send one loud resounding NO to the Bush administration and the Republican agenda, to the Democrats who refuse to carry out the mandate of their constituents, and to the University administrations that so often support war efforts."

Organizers are already working to build campaigns against the war on their campuses. More groups are signing on every day. All over the country organizers and activists are working to mobilize masses of students to simultaneously oppose the war on campuses across the country.

The call to action goes on to say, "We want as many people as possible to join us in this protest; the larger the protest the stronger the impact we have, and the sooner we can help end this war. We are calling on any and all student and youth based organizations that are opposed to the war in Iraq to mobilize their memberships, their campus, their community and hit the streets for the week of March 17-21, with March 20 as the focal point."

The call urges militant action on the part of students, saying, "We are calling on our fellow students and youth to take the lead and do whatever it takes–from rallies, marches, walk-outs, civil disobedience, and direct action–to send a clear message to the U.S. government: Get out of Iraq Now!"

For more information see: march20sds.wordpress.com or contact march20sds at gmail.com