Columbia College Chicago, quick…and exciting updates.
Late last week, students at Columbia College began the final push to October 5th by
meeting at 8am before classes began, and saturated every desk, in every major
building with a flyer. As classes let out, students split into teams and went to the
key buildings on campus to greet students coming out of classes, with pledge sheets
(struggling for students to sign pledges to be there on the 5th, but also to build
for the 5th), green armbands, and, in front of one building, did the Guantanamo
street theater.
Through the course of the day, most of the students were in school
received a flyer, and saw October 5th and WCW in a very visible way around campus.
Since then…an expanding core of students have continued to saturate the dorms
and campus building, have been doing street theater in front of key buildings,
have been interviewed by the Columbia Chronicle and other local media, and have
been going to professors and student organizations. The students have been taking
around a pledge sheet for professors, department chairs, and organizations calling
on people to pledge to be present on Oct 5 and to actively build and participate
ion October 5th.
So far, people and groups who have signed include, the chair of
the liberal education department, the chair of the music department, the chair of
the cultural studies department, several professors in each of those department,
the Latino Alliance, Q-Force (GLBT organization), the president of the Black
Student Union, and the president of the International Students Organization. Many
professors are canceling their classes, organizations are building and bringing
contingents.
Also, the chair of the film department is sending out an email to film professors and
others to participate in October 5th. There is a huge buzz on campus…and October
5th has become a big question. Today, October 4th, Jane Fonda and David Zeiger will
be present for a film screening of Sir No Sir. There will be three hundred students
there, and we are expecting to generate very lively and sharp discussion and debate
over the situation in the world, the need to drive out the Bush regime, and October
5th. There will a meeting afterward, bringing in many more people to participate
and build for tomorrow!