Students in the United States have long been a progressive force. In the 1960’s, students fought against McCarthyism, fought for civil rights, fought to end the Vietnam War, and in general fought for a better society than that which they had been born into. Students today, all across the country are rising up and fighting back against an illegal and unjust war.
The lives of over 2,000 US soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqis have been stolen to feed US Imperialism. More and more lives are being destroyed everyday with no end in sight. It is becoming increasingly impossible for us to sit by and remain silent while our classmates are being deceived and coerced into filling the ranks as cannon fodder for this war.
Dave Airhart and others like him across the country should be applauded for their actions, not beaten down. But that is precisely what has happened. Dave has been the latest target in a wave of repression at universities and colleges across the country. On May 4, 1970 the national guard murdered four students at Kent State University during a protest against the escalation of the Vietnam War. On October 19, 2005 Dave Airhart was physically assaulted by a recruiter for the US military while he was protesting an equally unpopular and unjust war.
Students are once again fighting for our right to free speech on our campuses and we will not be silenced. As each act of repression happens, our ranks will grow and we will continue our fight against military recruitment on our campuses and against the war that is consuming our generation and destroying the whole of Iraq.
In Solidarity,
Kristin Anderson
National Coordinating Committee, Campus Antiwar Network
San Francisco State University Students Against War