Youth join Chicago Peace Walk

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CHICAGO-"It was huge, it was enormous, it was fantastic!" This was the enthusiastic reaction of Tom Rainey, a senior at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) to the Second Annual Mother's Day Peace Walk in Chicago on May 13.

Another member of the 15-strong ETHS contingent, David Panofsky, added that while the turnout at the Mother's Day Walk was similar to that in 1983 (between 5000 and 6000 people), this year's crowd was much more diverse in its composition and its political positions.

Although the Help End the Arms Race (HEAR) coalition, the North Shore Peace Initiative, and the Illinois Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign played the central role in organizing the march-just as they had last year-the large turnout of a crowd which was not wholly North Shore, middle-aged, or 20 Socialist Action suburban was due mainly to the organizing efforts of the Peace and AntiWar contingent.

Its slogans of "No U.S. Intervention in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and "U.S. out of Lebanon" were reflected on many banners and placards throughout the march. These slogans had the effect of broadening the political message of the demonstration beyond the official slogans of "End the Arms Race, Save the Human Race,, and "Save the Children? The Anti-Intervention contingent itself was well organized and made up at least one-fifth of the march.

Another sign of this diversity was the growing evidence of "youth" participation. At least three high school groups were represented, including catholic high schools, St. Scholastica and Loyola Academy. Young people were also present in a highly visible Punk/Anarchy contingent. High school speakers were featured on the stand, and this, coupled with the inclusion of new wave June 1984 bands and a high school peace essay contest, proved to be a good draw.

Waiting in the wings of the Grant Park Bandshell, I had a good opportunity to hear all of the speakers. They ranged from Sister Marjorie Tuitt, who emphasized the connection between domestic crises and U.S. intervention abroad, to Aaron Friedman, who parodied Jesse Jackson in his "I Have a Scheme" speech.

When it was my turn to speak, 1. was glad to see that my faithful ETHS contingent had not left. As I announced the victorious results of our Evanston High School's Nuclear Weapon Free Zone single-issue referendum, my contingent led the wave of cheers.

The crowd was very receptive to the plea for a united antiwar/freeze movement. As people began trickling away, the Peace Walk ended on a n ste of anticipation of a more united peace