The Chicagoland Student Anti-War Network held an amazing protest in the Chicago Loop on November 20. We had 400 people participate, mainly local highschool and college students. We rallied at the State building under the theme "Money for Schools, Not War" and had fantastic speakers from area schools and unions address the crowd. A Korean immigrant organization brought out their amazing drummers to keep the crowd reved up. We then marched to the Federal Building for a final rally, chanting all the way. We got great feedback from some of the rush hour commuters. The whole thing was incredibly spirited and unified.
CSAWN only came together 3 weeks before the protest and organized the entire thing ourselves. This was impressive because most of the students in CSAWN have never done activist work before. We recieved a lot of support from other antiwar organizations around the city. This showed us that when the students lead, others will follow!
The movement against Bush's war on Iraq is growing among Chicago students and our organizations are growing as well. Greetings and solidarity to everyone else out there fighting to stop this madness.There will be a feature on either Monday or Tuesday's Jim Leher Newshour on PBS about the protest and the Chicago antiwar scene. Check it out!
Kirstin Roberts
UIC No War
CSAWN
New York City
I haven't yet heard how many NYU students attended our incredible walk-out and march today, but it was certainly hundreds. Several professors cancelled their classes, encouraging students to attend the protest instead. BBC News reported that thousands of people marched against the war in lower Manhattan today. Our large, energetic, racially diverse group of students from NYU met up with hundreds of other people--including tons of NYC high school students, many of whom risked or earned suspensions by walking out of class to be there. Several other local colleges were also in attendance. Many of the people there were first-time activists.
We marched from NYU up to Manhattan's Union Square, then back down again to Washington Square Park for an extended rally. Many people in NYU's anti-war group thought the high point was when--unpermitted--the entire group spontaneously took over Broadway, marching down the middle of the street. (I think there are some pictures of this at Indymedia.) After trying ineffectually to move us back onto the sidewalks and being ignored, the police gave up. Along our march route, we found a lot of support from bystanders on the street and in nearby windows.
I think our walkout was a real success and revealed that anti-war sentiment on our campus is both widespread and strong. I think a lot of today's success can be attributed to great publicity on campus leading up to the event, which both helped us reach people on campus who haven't been active before, and convinced people that they wouldn't be alone in walking out. Our coalition is looking forward to a public debate about war in Iraq tomorrow (our anti-war coalition, our Islamic Center and our chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, vs. the College Republicans) and we're also planning a big anti-war event on campus around Human Rights Day (December 10), and a big outreach campaign for a city-wide march on
December 14. Elizabeth Wrigley-Field NYU Peace Coalition
See also - NYC - Over 2000 Students Walk-Out and Sit-in at New School
State University of New York at Purchase
We here at SUNY Purchase also participated in today's National Day of Action. The organizing group is called PSAC, the Purchase Student Activist Collective. Our day went as follows:
100-150 students converged on the Mall (central campus space) at noon until 1:30. Approximately thirty of us staged a die-in, while others read facts outloud, handed out leaflets, banged drums and chanted. There were many signs. An open-mic followed, where professors and students spoke out. Our school is a small, art-based community, but we made the impression felt. Julia faxd 11 different media sources in the area; none were in attendance. - Julia Panik and Scott Kipp (combined their reports)
University of Northern Iowa
I just got back from the Die-in that we had as part of the National Day of Student Action. We had a Die-in in are Union at Noon. We started with loud drumming and then we a whistle blow then a loud bang from a drum. Then we all fell over and died, we read a statement of why we were doing this, then the students in the Union clapped for us. We had a very good response from the students. Many of them thanked us for it. We were interviewed by at least three papers and by one news station. We had a table set up with all sorts of information, as well as info about are community teach-in on the 24th. -
Chris Schwartz University of Northern Iowa
Philadelphia
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/4566209.htm
Local college students protest war with Iraq
By James M. O'Neill
Inquirer Staff Writer Two student anti-war groups - one moving south on Broad Street from Temple University and another marching east along Chestnut Street from Penn - made a minor mess of Center City traffic today before they converged on City Hall for a rally opposing a possible war with Iraq.
Many among the group of roughly 350 students - from a baseball player to a physics major - had never before participated in public protest,
illustrating the continued growth of a fledgling anti-war movement on college campuses locally and across the country.
That movement is getting fueled in part by a growing number of teach-ins that college faculty have organized, including one at Haverford College earlier this month and another Tuesday night at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn professor Ian Lustick, who participated in the Tueasday teach-in, said he was "much impressed by the numbers, enthusiasm, stamina and commitment of the students I saw.
"I also think there is a large body of opinion in the country wanting to express itself, and students and universities can open up the floodgates,"
Lustick said.
Typical of those participating in today's protest was Yvonne Shirley, 20, a Penn junior, who had never been in a public protest before. She skipped
a film class to attend. "I think based on the information the president has provided so far, a war is not justified," she said.
Shirley said she thinks Americans have been hesitant to speak out against Bush's stance towards Iraq because of a general "national insecurity"
since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Lauren Tarantino, 20, a Penn senior, said she had not been politically active before this year. "I went to a sheltered suburban high school and, like
a lot of Americans, I didn't pay attention to what's going on in the world until I got to college," she said. "We'd rather live in a bubble - it's too
difficult to realize we live in a country that does horrible things in the world."
Temple junior Evan Klinefelter, 20, said war with Iraq would be misguided. "I don't think the way to deter terrorism is to furthur alienate
the rest of the world by being so aggressive in foreign policy," he said. The Temple and Penn students were joined at City Hall by students from
Haverford, Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr.
Not everyone at the protest was a student. Haverford professor Martin Hebert joined the group. And Tony and Lee Junker of the Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting carried a banner that read "Starting war is not American." "It's great to see the students get involved," Tony Junker said. "The Iraq 'situation' has been concocted by the president. Bush is picking this fight and he's back[ed] by oil interests."
Junker said he thought few Americans have made public protests against a war because the Bush administration "is pushing a message of fear."
As the Penn students marched on Chestnut, waving American flags and shouting "We don't want your oil war," they drew stares from pedestrians, some confused looks from office workers peering out of Center City's glass towers, and a few thumbs-up.
As they briefly blocked north-south traffic across Chestnut, they prompted a few car horn blasts of impatience and several drivers gave them the
finger.
The two groups converged at virtually the same time in front of City Hall.
"Don't Let Bush Teach Hate," read one protestor's sign. "An eye for an eye makes all blind," read another. "Peace is patriotic," read a third.
The Haverford students plan to maintain a protest vigil at Love Park through Saturday.
"I am confident that if this war goes forward as a unilateral American invasion we will have a massive anti-war movement in this country, even
without a draft," said Penn's Lustick.
"Students and others are scared of what this war could do to the country they want to live, work, and grow families in," Lustick said. "The
failure of the Democratic Party to express the anger, confusion, and resentment over the Bush plunge toward war opens a door to mass mobilization
by grassroots organizations."
Contribution from Spencer Witte, University of Pennsylvania
Josh Jackson, from Hampshire College, STudent Action for Radical Change (STARC) and Maine, was the primary organizer and MC'd the event. Josh was pleased to report to this writer that a peace rally drew 2500 people to Augusta, Maine on Oct. 26. Josh is a member of the national campus listserv 
Speakers included Lisa DePiano (left), a UMASS student and member of the Graduate Employee Organization. Lisa warmed the crowd as a chilly night approached with anti-war cheers.
Also speaking were veteran peace activists, including Frances Crowe (left). She advised youth on the draft during the Vietnam War and was a founder of both 
