Article from The Golden Gate [X]Press (SFSU school newspaper), 2/9/07:
Anti-war Activists Call for Strike
By
Christine Ferrer, staff writer
Several activists from the “World Can’t
Wait-Drive out the Bush Regime” campus tour urged about 25 students and
faculty members to organize a student strike and join the fight to
“drive out the Bush regime”.
As people walked into Rigoberta Menchu Hall Thursday afternoon, an
enlarged photo of an Iraqi detainee, as he lay naked on a bloodied
cement floor, stood out among other photos that depicted the abuse at
Abu Ghraib.
“How many of you all have ever been asked, “what do you want to be
when you grow up?”” asked Liam Madden, a veteran of the U.S. Marine
Corps and co-founder of the Appeal for Redress, a group of active
servicemembers appealing to Congress to remove U.S. troops from Iraq.
All raised their hands.
Then, Madden asked, “How many have ever been asked, “what kind of world do you want to live in?””
No one raised their hands.
“We need to become more of a world that shapes its society, and move
away from what Dr. King called a “thing orientated society” to an us
orientated society,” said Madden.
People need to ask themselves what kind of world they are making for future generations, he said.
Too many people remain passive, said the activists. It’s time for
this generation to rise up, hold President Bush accountable for the
Iraq war, torture, and “his attack on human dignity,” said Sunsara
Taylor, a co-founder of World Can’t Wait.
“The country is starting to wake up, Bush is doing a horrible job,
the Iraq War is wrong,” said Lacy MacAuley, 28, an international
relations major. “I’m proud to be at an event that encapsulates those
viewpoints.”
More than half the room said they would participate in a student strike on Feb. 15, if one was organized.
The attendees were more attentive than outspoken, but some did
comment when they were asked if and why they would participate in a
strike to impeach Bush.
One student, who refused to disclose his name, said that throughout
history the way one person has made a difference was either by striking
or boycotting. He said by striking, “we will be withholding from the
system like they”ve withheld from us with budget cuts, immigrants”until
they listen to us.”
Leigh Wolf, 20, the president of the College Republicans, made an
appearance but did not speak until Taylor expressed that she was
disappointed that someone from the College Republicans had not yet
“heckled” her.
Wolf accused her for espousing Communist ideology and criticized her for not including the word “communist” in her speech.
The open dialogue that took place encouraged about 14 of the
attendees to adjourn to another room after the event and discuss a
potential student strike on Feb. 15.
If SF State students decide to participate in a strike, they will be
joining students at other colleges and high schools in the nation
including UC Santa Barbara, Sonoma College, and Columbia University.