Success in Puerto Rico's Demilitarization Campaign (No ROTC!)

The successful demilitarization campaign of Puerto Rico has extended
from Vieques to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez in an effort
to expel the ROTC program. On September 15th a group of students
established a civil disobedience camp at the base of a demolished ROTC
structure that was to be rebuilt for the military program. Reclaiming
the University’s mission to excellence in education and its commitment
to a culture of peace, and denouncing the use of university funds that
go to promote war, the students halted the construction of the building
by taking over the place non-violently. For over the past three months,
the students have braved everything from hostile administration
officials and security officers to inclement weather and lack of basic
needs like water and electricity. Students, professors, and university
employees have been true to their demilitarization cause and have vowed
to remain at the site until they accomplish their goals, namely, the
termination of ROTC programs on all UPR campuses and the reassignment of
the disputed building to serve a broader sector of the university
community.

There have been several meetings with UPR administration officials,
including a recent one with the president and various ones with the
chancellor of the Mayagüez campus. Those meetings, however, have not
translated into significant gains.

We urge anti-war activists across the United States to help us
disseminate our message. We must fight the insanity of war from every
angle. This requires ending all ROTC programs and their recruitment
activities on our college campuses.

To find out more about our struggle and about how we can join forces,
you may contact us at the numbers and addresses below.

In solidarity,

Frente Universitario por la Desmilitarización y la Educación (FUDE)

Isa Rodríguez (787) 594-0730, fude_rum (at) hotmail.com
Ismael Guadalupe (787) 473-1652
Héctor Rosario, PhD (787) 538-3117, hrosario (at) math.uprm.edu

--
Héctor Rosario, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Puerto Rico - RUM
Department of Mathematics
PO Box 9018
Mayagüez, PR 00681