Wednesday, March 5th: BOOKS NOT BOMBS!
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT STRIKE!
Rally at Bascom Hill at 11:00 AM, March to the Capitol
What exactly is a student strike, and why are we doing it?
This strike is about POWER; youth and student power! During the One-Day International Student Strike, students will walk out of class to oppose the war, and make anti-war demands on Bush, Congress and their local administrators and officials. We hope to shut down our schools for a day to demonstrate our power to disrupt our institutions if we go to war. We also hope to promote real democracy and display our voting power by casting our votes against the war and for education in a nationwide Anti-War Election, and mail the ballots in to our Congressional Representatives. We must let the Bush Administration and other leadership know that we will not stand for war in Iraq!
Who is the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition?
The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition was founded in October 2001 to represent the youth voice of military dissent during the aftermath of the September 11 tragedies. The NYSPC is a collaboration of a broad base of national organizations: 180/Movement for Democracy and Education, Black Radical Congress-Youth Caucus, Campus Greens, Muslim Students Association of the US and Canada, National Youth Advocacy Coalition, Not with the Our Money, Student Environmental Action Coalition, Student Peace Action Network, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, Students Transforming and Resisting Corporations, United Students Against Sweatshops, United States Students Association, Young Communist League, Young Democratic Socialists, and the Young People's Socialists League.
What should I do after I leave class? How do we pull off an Anti-War mock Election during the strike?
Most students are planning a march from the school to a planned rally. At the rally, youth and students (and non-youth supporters) will participate in a national Anti-War mock Election. You won't need much to pull off the election; just a table, some postcard stamps and the Anti-War ballots downloaded from www.nyspc.net. Organizers will give rally-goers an election ballot asking them to vote against the war on Iraq and for increased education spending. One recommended rally and poll site is in front of the local post office because here we can mail in our ballots right away to Congress!
I am not a student, what can I do?
We knew that not all youth were students, and that not only youth would want to participate! That is why the Anti-War mock Election is so important. Anyone who opposes a war in Iraq can come to a rally and cast their vote against the war and for education. Just contact your local chapter of any of the organizations listed above, your regional anti-war coalitions or a local campus group that has been active around the war to find out the specifics of your local actions. You can also check www.nyspc.net to find out who is participating in your area.
Who is involved, and how do can I get more involved?
Over 200 schools have signed on to the student strike just in the United States. Elsewhere, students in Greece, Australia, Canada and Cuba among others will be acting in solidarity. To get more involved, visit the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition's web site at www.nyspc.net to sign up for a working committee, or to simply download more information. You can also download a resource organizing packet which gives step by step details on pulling off an Anti-War mock Election, how to coordinate your local media with the national strategies, and some basic talking points on why to strike.
Join us, on March 5 for the One-Day International Student Strike!
STRIKE to oppose the war!
VOTE to set the stage for 2004!
Mail it in to demand Congress fund education, not war!
to NATIONAL STUDENT STRIKE, MARCH 5TH, 2003 page
to Madison SLAC home page