Sio° the War Before Itstarts

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On Nov. 30, over 350 students demonstrated in Twin Cities, Minn., against U.S. war moves Central America and South Africa-saw some amount of student involvement. And yet things are different now. This is partly due to the deteriorating economy; students are wondering what they are studying for— will they be able to make it into society?

On some campuses, students have been faced with large budget cuts. At San Francisco State, for example, students in some classes have to sit on the floor for lack of chairs. Something like 200 classes were cut just last semester, and tuition was raised at the same time.

A lot of the rallies on campuses have been able to tie in the question of the money taken out of schools and the warped priorities of the government, where they have millions of dollars for war and no money for schools and other social needs.

SA: Is the military draft seen as a more immediate prospect for students now?

H.D.: People are concerned with the draft. However, it has not been reinstated yet. When it is reinstated, the amount of antiwar activity is going to quadruple.

I think there is also a growing awareness and solidarity between students and people who are are part of the "economic draft." Young people often go into the ROTC or the reserves in order to get help to get into schools.

SA: How did the California Student Network form and what does it seek to do?

H.D.: We had our first meetings after a number of colleges and universities had already formed committees. We wanted to gather together to discuss strategies of building the antiwar movement and of reaching out to other campuses who didn't have committees. We wanted to have better communication and understanding of what was going on and the ability to share materials and speakers.

We decided to organize for a week of stu...Protests grow (continued from page 1: “Stop the U.S. war against Iraq! Demonstrate on Jan. 26! Bring the Troops Home Now! FOR OIL”)

students to the Jan. 26 antiwar demonstration in Washington, D.C.

Many students walked out of their classes to participate in marches and rallies. On Jan. 15, just before the deadline for war, 200 7th and 8th graders at Montera Junior High School in Oakland, Calif., cut classes in order to hold a protest discussion. And on Jan. 16, two dozen high school and middle school students in Rockport, Texas, were arrested when they walked out in protest.

Similar scenes were repeated in thousands of cities, small towns, and suburban districts across the country. From Colorado to West Virginia to Louisiana, the chant was raised: "No blood for oil!"

Many cities and small towns in Europe were also the scene of antiwar activities. Berlin, Frankfort, London, and Paris each had demonstrations of over 100,000 people on the weekend prior to the deadline for war. In Turkey, an illegal march drew 40,000.

Demonstrations also continued in cities may not have been able to put together rallies on their own since there were maybe only one or two activists who were plugged into the Student Network-were able to hold rallies and to get lists of names from those rallies and from that point to begin organizing their own committees.

SA: How many campuses are hooked into the California Network?

H.D.: About 10 or 12 regularly participate in the meetings, and around 20 identify with it.

SA: What are the links between the California Network and student groups in other parts of the country?

H.D.: As soon as the California Student Network formed, there was communication with Students Against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East in New York, Chicago Campuses Against the War, and with students in the Twin Cities, Ohio, and other places.

We explained that we were going to have the Dec. 3-8 week of activities, which would focus on the Jeff Paterson case and bring in the issue of the draft and larger and towns in Canada. Protesters in Toronto staged sit-ins at the local offices of two cabinet ministers.

Unity proposals issued

In response to the U.S. bombing of Iraq, organizers of the Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 demonstrations in the San Francisco Bay Area have urged support for each other's demonstrations. It is expected that a similar course participating in building the Washington, D.C., and San Francisco national marches on Jan. 26.

H.D.: That's correct. On both the East Coast [in Washington, D.C.J and here on the West Coast [in San Francisco], student conferences which are planned to take place on Jan. 27 are loosely coordinated with the Jan. 26 marches. There has been cooperation between the planners of Jan. 26 and the student conferences.

The students will help build the 26th.

And the community organizations backing the marches will help publicize the conferences by having the information on their leaflets and so on. Basically, both activities are around the same demand: Bring the Troops Home Now.

SA: What are these student conferences attempting to do?

H.D.: I can speak most directly to the one to be held here in San Francisco.

We've developed an initial agenda. We want to keep the focus particularly on the war rather than on a multi-issue program. Other issues will come into it, of course, as they will be taken by the organizers of the Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 demonstrations in Washington, D.C.

The steering committee of the San Francisco-based Jan. 26 Mobilization to Bring the Troops Home Now paved the way for this united response. At an emergency meeting on Jan. 16, the Mobilization's steering committee unanimously approved a proposal which urges all-out support for (1) relate to the war.

We'll be having a number of workshops that people can participate in. There will be one workshop on racism and the war, for example, and another on sexism and the war. Other workshops will deal with Palestine, with the media, and with building an alliance between students and the university staff, faculty, and the community at large.

SA: Will people be voting on any proposals at the conference?

H.D.: We are discussing proposals for consideration by the body, such as plans for further coordinated student actions and for some sort of communication system.

We've been kicking around the idea of a student newspaper or fact sheet in which every campus could have a paragraph about what they're doing.

For more information on the student conferences: On the West Coast, call Hilary al (415) 626-8053. In the New York City area, call Jon, Tara, or Betsy at (212) 2270225.

the Jan. 19 antiwar demonstration, (2) the Jan. 21 "March for Peace" organized by the Black community in commemoration of Martin Luther King's birthday, and (3) the Jan. 26 antiwar demonstration.

Walter Johnson, secretary-treasurer of the San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO), told the Mobilization's steering committee that he would place his offices and phones at the full disposal of this three-pronged effort. The S.F. Labor Council has prepared a 900piece mailing in support of the Jan. 26 demonstration.

A joint press conference by the organizers of both antiwar coalitions is scheduled for Jan. 18 at the office of the S.F. Labor Council. Speakers will include representatives of the two coalitions, as well as Dr. Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church, Walter Johnson, and Paul Varicali, secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 790.

Another important sign of the deep opposition within the U.S. labor movement to the U.S. war was the decision by the Bay Area SEIU Joint Council to endorse both the Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 antiwar protests.

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