Anti-War Protests Held in Dozens of Cities on Oct. 11
2008Brittany Kilburn 2008-11The page as the paper published it (Wayback Machine) →
From the paper's own web edition, recovered from the Internet Archive: the text as the paper put it online, not machine-read. The printed issue of November 2008 is not held.
by Brittany Kilburn / November 2008
On Oct. 11, gatherings took place across the United States demanding an end to the fruitless wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. This date came out of the call for national united antiwar actions put forward by the June 28-29 National Assembly Against the Wars and Occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, attended by about 400 in Cleveland.
Oct. 11 was seen as a prime time to show the presidential candidates just what the American people want. And it was chosen to demonstrate that we can not rely on a new president to end the war, but we need to be out in the streets making our voices heard louder and clearer than ever.
In Boston, 1000 people marched from all over Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire on Oct. 11. There was a great surge in youth participation in this action, more than in previous years. In Seattle, 250 people, including many students, gathered for a rally and march, shouting, "They say bail out, we say troops out!"
In Salt Lake City, 125 people came together, despite an early winter storm, calling for "Peace, Clean Air, and Health Care," with a special emphasis on Indigenous Peoples' Day (aka Columbus Day).
In Connecticut, there were three actions held—one on Oct. 9 at Central Connecticut State University and two on Oct. 11 at the University of Connecticut and Trinity College (which were both initiated by student groups on campus). In Providence, 200 people rallied for "Antiwar and Pro-Immigration" at Dexter Training Grounds, beside the Cranston Armory.
Other communities in which demonstrations took place included Duluth; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Rockland County, N.Y.; Pittsburgh; Chicago; Cleveland; Columbus; Dayton; Englewood, N.J.; and Madison, Wis.
For me, the most important fact in each of these actions is that the number of students coming out of the woodwork is growing. These actions in October, and the coming actions in December and March, may indeed serve to help bring back the student movement, which has been practically non-existent since the 1970s.
The October demonstrations need to be replicated with full force in the coming months. More than ever, with Obama fresh in office, we will need to put our minds together and let him know that what the American people want is affordable health care, affordable housing, better education, and NO MORE WAR!