West Coast Regional Conference of the Campus Antiwar Network

West Coast Regional Conference of the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN)
April 24th, Evans Hall, University of California, Berkeley

Keynote Speaker:
Khury Paterson-Smith: A member of the Campus Antiwar Network and student at the Rochester Institute of Techology. He recently visited Iraq with the UFPJ delegation.

to register, contact: can_wc_conf_2004 [at] hotmail.com

Save the date! West Coast CAN is proud to announce the second regional conference happening this April at UC Berkeley. We want as many students from the West Coat as possible to come out and plan the future of our movement!

With Bush's popularity ratings at an all time low, with intensifying resistance to the occupation in Iraq, and with deepening demoralization within the ranks of the military, the US government has found itself in a quagmire. The antiwar movement has been vindicated on every count, including the WMD lies, and we have a broad audience for our ideas. Also the Israeli government, while recieving support from the Bush Administration, has continued to tighten its grip on the Palestinian people.

On March 20, one year after the war in Iraq began, close to two million people across the world expressed frustration with the Bush administration and the devestation in middle east by taking to the streets in protest of the occupations of Iraq and Palestine. Now more than ever we need to organize so that the millions of students who opose these brutal occupations can have a voice in the world and so that
together we CAN help end all unjust occupations.

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The West Cost CAN Conference will take place at a critical time for our movement, and it's important that we discuss our strategies for successfully organizing in this period:

What are the challenges and opportunities facing our movement right now?

What does CAN think about the important political debates in the antiwar movement - occupation, self-determination, the UN, presidential elections, Palestine and Haiti?

What will CAN on the West Coast do as part of a national student organization to strengthen our resistance to the US occupation of Iraq and Palestine?

What will we do to end the occupation of Iraq and to bring the troops home?

All antiwar organizations are invited to participate. We welcome antiwar organizations and supporters to help make this conference an important event for the entire movement! Also Campus-based antiwar and anti-occupation organizations are invited to affiliate with CAN and to send two delegates per campus to vote at the conference, plus all other students that wish to take part in disscusions and workshops.

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The conference will be from 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday April 24th at UC Berkeley, Evans Hall.

Proposed Agenda to be approved by all delegates is as
follows:

9:00-10:00am - Registration
10:00-10:30am - Greetings/agenda vote/Keynote
Keynote: Khury Paterson-Smith (RIT)- recently visited Iraq with the UFPJ delegation
10:30-11:15am - State of the movement discussion
11:30-12:30pm - Workshop Session I
12:30-1:30pm - Lunch break
1:30-2:30pm - Workshop Session II
2:30-2:45pm - Break
2:45-3:45pm - Presentation of Proposals/ Discussion
3:45-4:00pm - Break
4:00-5:00pm - Workshop Session III
5:00-6:00pm - Voting session
Followed by dinner/party

The proposed workshop sessions are as follows:

Workshop Session I:
A. Debate on Iraq (Pro-UN, Pro-phased removal,
Pro-"out now!" speakers)
B. Debate on Elections 2004
(Democrat/Green/Independent)

Workshop Session II:
A. Haiti
B. Palestine and the history of Zionism
C. Vietnam and the anti-war movement of the sixties

Workshop Session III:
How to organize CAN w/ breakouts for different focus
groups (Literature, Media, Events, Strategies, etc)

If you want to find out more about CAN check out campusantiwar.net. Please send this email out to all the antiwar organizations and supporters that you know - in particular to any campus antiwar group that might not yet be a part of CAN.

To register, to propose workshops or speakers, to offer your help in planning the conference, or ask questions, email the conference address: can_wc_conf_2004 [at] hotmail.com

CAN Points of Unity:
We stand opposed to all US wars of aggression.
We stand opposed to the occupation of Iraq.
We support the right of the Iraqi people to self-determination.
We demand the immediate withdrawal of all troops from
Iraq.
We demand that the US government pay reparations to the Iraqi people.
We stand opposed to the oppression of the Palestinian people and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
We stand opposed to racist scapegoating and all attacks on civil liberties.
We demand money for education, jobs and healthcare, not war and occupation!