Thu Nov 17 2005
Table at Hayward Campus Raises Awareness of Consequences of Enlistment
The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition initiated Not Your Solider Day, which was observed on November 17th around the country on college and high school campuses. It was a day taken to counter-recruit students and show them what really happens when you enlist in the military. The day also helps to show alternatives to going into the military and gives information on how to resist a draft.
A table for Not Your Soldier Day was held at the Hayward Campus of Cal State East Bay by Alliance for Social Justice, a socio-political activist organization on campus, from 12-2pm in front of the University Union. The table featured pamphlets, buttons, comic books, fliers, and a collage display. Many of the materials had been donated by the American Friends Service Committee and The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors. The information provided was to help students make a more informed decision when considering enlisting in the U.S. military, to provide alternatives to enlistment, and to promote peace and justice work instead.
Two students stuck out in the minds of the table staff. One was a recent Iraq vet who said the Iraq war changed her life. She dropped her military career and is now pursuing school. She said she really came to believe that, “The only liberated Iraqi was a dead Iraqi.” The other student was crying as she came up to a protester as he laid on the ground. She explained that her husband was in Iraq and she found Gregg's act distasteful. The tablers explained to her that they were trying to make a statement and that although it was offensive to some, so was the Iraq war itself. Overall, the organizers felt that the event was a success, and they hope to do more anti-war and anti-military recruitment activities on the Cal State East Bay campus. Photos
On November 18th, Not in Our Name joined CODEPINK at the Oakland Militiary Recruiting Station for a fake bake sale and street theater to protest the war, military recruiting, and to support Army National Guard SPC Katherine Jashinski who is currently speaking out against the war.
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Also on November 18th, Cindy Sheehan, Peter Camejo, Barbara Becnel and Todd Chretien spoke at an event called Turning the Tide Against the War in Iraq and at Home, at UC Berkeley.
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