Asheville, NC – Over 40 students confronted North Carolina Army National Guard recruiters on the University of North Carolina at Asheville campus during the university’s Career Fair, Feb. 21. The UNCA Socialist Unity League, a progressive and antiwar student group, led the effort for students to protest the recruiters’ presence.

The League held a rally in front of the library as students were leaving their morning classes, then marched across the university quad to the Career Fair in the Highsmith Student Union. As the protesters flooded into the hall, the Highsmith Union was filled with loud chants demanding that the recruiters leave. Many students passing through Highsmith Union stopped to join the demonstration and voice their support.

Several students then proceeded to block the recruiters’ table with enormous banners that read, “Out of Iraq – Out of our community – Out of UNCA!” and, “Not in Iraq, not in our schools!” Campus police were summoned and the students were threatened with arrest, while leaders of the Socialist Unity League were warned that if protesters continued to block the table, the group would be banned from campus.

Tensions rose as some of the campus police began to push and threaten students while trying to pull down their banners. A compromise was reached, and the protesters agreed to stand on either side of, and directly across from, the recruiters. The protest lasted for three hours – the length of time that the recruiters were allowed to stay on our campus. The recruiters succeeded in speaking to barely a handful of students. As the Career Fair ended, the protesters escorted the recruiters to their vehicles and it was all over.

Eric Gardner, one of the organizers of the protest said, “We want to say that none of us have anything against the people serving in the U.S. military. We are not against those in the United States military. We are against the people who con them into fighting and dying in an unjust war. We are against the corporations who make fabulous profits off the blood of young American men and women whose sufferings, however, don’t even come close to what the Iraqi people have seen at the hands of the U.S. government. We are against students at UNCA dying in an unjust war for the rich.”

Organizers of the protest and many students who came by to participate all promised to redouble their efforts for the fall Career Fair, and for the coming visits of the recruiters to the campus cafeteria. Pieter Wessels of the Socialist Unity League said, “We’re prepared to face these liars every time they try to recruit innocents for their death-machine. We won’t back down until they leave for good. This is just the beginning.”

One of the weak links in the imperialist occupation of Iraq is here at home. Battlefields include the military recruitment tables in communities, high schools and colleges across the United States. The National Guard is currently 25% behind on its recruitment levels. Without more recruits, the occupation will be undermined. The counter-recruitment movement will only grow – and with it, the chance for peace.

#AshevilleNC #AntiwarMovement #News #UNCA #counterrecruitment #SocialistUnityLeague

Asheville, NC – Around 25 student activists and organizers from seven cities throughout the southeast came to Asheville, North Carolina, April 4, for a conference called “The Crisis of Imperialism and Building a Revolutionary Movement.” This regional student conference was hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

“It was an amazing experience, being in a room full of student activists from all over the southeast and having conversations about what the student movement is up against and where we should go from here,” said Ryan Costello, a student from the University of Alabama who attended the conference. “We weren't just talking about theories of imperialism and economics just for fun, but in order to become better organizers, in order to change society and we left the conference inspired and ready to take what we learned back to our campuses.”

Three workshops were held over the course of the day, one on imperialism and war, another on political economy and the current economic crisis and the third on the mass line, revolutionary organization and leadership.

“We put this conference together in order to bring together some of the advanced organizers and leaders in the student movement from around the South and draw some lessons from their experiences,” said Josh Sykes, one of the conference organizers. “From that, we hoped we could help give some clarity, based on a Marxist analysis, to many of the current practical problems facing student activists today, especially in the anti-war movement and in the movement to stop budget cuts and tuition hikes.”

“I liked the presentation on political economy,” said Rachel Catlin McLarty of UNC-Asheville Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). “I thought it was explained thoroughly in a way that was easy to comprehend. It made a lot of sense in very accessible terms.”

Laura Langley, an organizer in SDS from Tuscaloosa, Alabama said, “I left Asheville not only feeling more empowered and solid in my Marxist-Leninist views, but also inspired to put those views into action. I am excited to be a part of this movement’s future, and to see FRSO’s part in that.”

Fern Figueroa came all the way from Gainesville, Florida. “The most important lesson I learned,” he said, “was how us working people should organize against a system that exploits us for the benefit of the rich and how to forge a just society where we’re in control.”

#AshevilleNC #AntiwarMovement #News #Imperialism #UNCA #frso

Members of UNCA SDS, the new student body president and several from the College Democrats stood outside and showed that they would not leave. Doug Michel, a member of SDS, said, “Recruiters lie while soldiers die. Every year, military recruiters come onto campuses and target young people for ‘career opportunities’ in an institution that is run by murder, racism, homophobia and sexism. Working class and nonwhite youth are targeted the most. By protesting recruitment and telling people the truth, we are jamming a wrench into the war machine.”

News of the UNCA budget being cut by 3-4% and then by 7% by the end of next fiscal year has sparked interest in fighting for education rights. Students argue that typically, LGBTQ, women’s, and diversity studies along with other social services (health and counseling programs) are cut first, while the school administration takes little to no pay cuts. Slogans during the demonstration read, “Fund education, not occupation!” to address the effects of the economic crisis and wars.

In the past, UNCA SDS has vowed to protest any attempts by military recruiters to use the campus to gather cannon fodder. Students and youth know that the U.S. is continuing the occupation of Iraq. Likewise, people are beginning to understand that U.S presence in Afghanistan is only providing more suffering to the millions of impoverished Afghans. The U.S. military is not being used to ‘spread democracy’ or ‘protect our freedoms,’ but to consolidate political and economic control in the Middle East and South Asia. The U.S. wants us to fight for Iraqi oil and Afghan supply routes – but the students and youth say no.

#AshevilleNC #AntiwarMovement #News #UNCA #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #counterrecruitment

Michael Graham, a member of the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) SDS said, “We oppose the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan and are greatly displeased with the plan to double the U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the end of the year. The people of Afghanistan have the right to determine what’s best for their country. People hated George W. Bush because of his wars, and what are we doing now? It's outrageous to trade one war for empire for another.”

UNCA SDS recognizes that an increase in U.S. troops to over 60,000 will not bring anything good to the people of Afghanistan. Afghan civilians are getting fed up, and there is rising popular anger at U.S. and NATO atrocities such as this latest in a series of massacres. A Fight Back! article reported in February, “The fact is, no occupation can ever win over the ‘hearts and minds’ of an occupied people, and only those who dream of empire would think otherwise. Each massacre of Afghan civilians will provoke more Afghans to join the fight against the occupying forces, while the puppet government put in place to help pacify the population is crumbling under the astonishing levels of corruption and negligence.” ( U.S. Occupation Faltering in Afghanistan, 2009, Fight Back!)

Today, the University of North Carolina at Asheville SDS stood in solidarity with the hundreds of Afghan students that took to the streets last Sunday in Kabul to protest the massacre and mourn the deaths of the women, men and children who died on May 4. Standing in front of the Federal Building with their banner, “U.S. out of Afghanistan now! Fund education, not occupation!” UNCA SDS and community members chanted, “The people of Afghanistan are under attack! What do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

#AshevilleNC #AntiwarMovement #News #SDS #Afghanistan #UNCA

Asheville, NC – Over 150 students, community activists and members of the Coalition for College Access (C4CA) gathered on the campus quad for a walkout and rally, raising the demand “Education for all!” at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA), March 31.

The rally was one of many actions across the state to support education for all people, not just persons born in the U.S. It opposed North Carolina legislation barring undocumented immigrants from attending community colleges. Seven campuses across North Carolina participated in similar coordinated actions around this issue. During the week of March 21, C4CA members on UNCA’s campus tabled, held “Immigration Realities” workshops, and showed the movie, Walkout, about the beginning of the Chicano student movement. The buildup culminated March 31, Caesar Chavez Day, when students met up on the quad for the walkout and rally shouting, “Sí se puede!”

The C4CA formed on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus May 2008 and is held together by a belief that all academically qualified students should have access to higher education. The statewide action came on the heels of the C4CA’s Summit held at UNCA on January 31.

“What we were looking to do is come up with some tangible ideas to fight for college access this time around,” said Alikhan Salehi, a member of C4CA and one of the organizer’s of the Summit. “The immigration issue is very divisive. When you talk to people about the importance of a college education, you can find a common ground with folks regardless of their background. Not allowing people to get an education creates a sub-class of citizens that doesn’t help society. People are forced to be second-class citizens.” The Summit included a “Student Realities Workshop,” a walkout/rally planning crew meeting and filmed testimonials on how college access has affected people present.

The Associated Student Government recently voted up Resolution 19, called “An Act Encouraging the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Community College System to restore Universal College Access.”

“This gives us a foothold, but really helps us in name only,” remarked Salehi, who is also a member of the student government at UNC-Asheville. “It’s a good place to start, but we have a long way to go.”

The walkout and rally were a great success. People came together to rally around the issue of education rights for undocumented immigrants and other oppressed nationalities. Speakers addressed the need for comprehensive immigration reform, accessible education and multinational unity.

Gabi Lemus, co-president of the UNCA campus group HOLA (Hispanic Outreach for Learning and Awareness) had this to say about the rally: “The purpose of having the walkout and the rally was to show our support for college access for all and specifically for community colleges in North Carolina to reopen their doors to undocumented students. We firmly believe that higher education is a basic human right that must not be denied to anyone. Having a rally provided us with the opportunity to express this belief and gave us a chance to attenuate misconceptions about the issue of college access in hopes of gaining even more support from our campus community and peers.”

#AshevilleNC #ImmigrantRights #News #ChicanoLatino #UNCA #c4ca #walkout #HOLA

At the last Board of Trustees meeting, March 23, an SDSer attempted to sit in on one of the presentations, but was eyed suspiciously by attendees and blocked from entering a presentation. SDS then approached student body president Cortland Mercer to address concerns on the budget and cutbacks. Mercer and the SDS were able to talk to an administrative official about budget documents, but the administration was unwilling to fully disclose them.

It has been recently revealed that University of North Carolina system president Erskine Bowles has advocated that UNC schools tighten their belts and even has admitted that some “vertical cuts” are to be made. This means that some programs, such as Leadership scholarships at UNCA, are completely cut. Another ploy by the UNCA administration is to cut days that benefit students out of the academic calendar, such as the reading day for exam preparation and moving day for first-year students.

During the past several weeks, the local SDS chapter drafted a statement to bring to the chancellor. They decided to take the list of demands on May 1 and begin direct talks with the head of UNCA.

At the meeting, Chancellor Ponder found the statement “offensive,” and gave students advice on proposing concerns. But the delegation maintained that the approach was in good faith and that they expected the right to demand accountability, transparency, student participation and a university that serves the people.

“What we find ‘offensive’ is a university that prides itself as a diverse campus, but only has 4% African American and 2.7% Latinos of our student body,” said SDSer Doug Michel. “Ponder makes a quarter of a million dollars per year from taxpayers and our tuition but felt that our demands, including a tuition-freeze and pay cuts from top administrative officials, were unreasonable. We want to continue talks in good faith, but hope that the chancellor understands who she serves as a public university official.”

The chancellor and another SDS delegation is set to meet next week to continue talks.

Amidst a deteriorating economy, a movement of students has swept across the U.S. to demand education rights – from the University of Vermont to southern California. SDS’s fight-back against the crisis at UNCA ensures that students’ education will not be cut back while bankers get bailed out. UNCA SDS stands in solidarity with the movement against home foreclosures and working peoples’ demands against unemployment and for greater benefits.

#AshevilleNC #News #SDS #EducationRights #UNCA