Asheville, NC – When members of the University of North Carolina – Asheville Students for a Democratic Society (UNC-Asheville SDS) heard that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was coming to hold one of her lynch mob style rallies in Asheville, there was no question of organizing a protest. Workers, students and members of the Asheville community assembled outside of the Civic Center downtown. On Oct. 26, there was an outpouring of over 300 protesters who confronted Palin and her rally of supporters.

Asheville, NC - The chant, “U.S. out of Iraq! Let them have their country back!” echoed off the buildings of downtown Asheville as a spirited group of over 100 students, young people, workers and veterans marched through the city to say no to Bush’s war. The protesters chose to mark the three-year anniversary of the invasion by joining millions of others around the world to demand the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

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.

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.

Asheville NC – August 16, 2008, 200 protesters gathered in Pack Square, downtown Asheville NC, to march and rally against the raiding tactics of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This came in response to a raid just two days earlier, on August 13th, at Mills Manufacturing – a parachute manufacturer. The majority of arrested workers are from Mexico, but also Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador. This was the largest raid ever in the western part of North Carolina. Community members immediately rushed to the factory, but were unable to stop the raid.

Asheville, NC – Demonstrations were held in Asheville, North Carolina and neighboring Hendersonville Oct. 12 against recent raids by ICE, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. ICE recently raided Mills Manufacturing, a military contractor that produces parachutes for the Army. Over 50 workers were detained in the raid. Many of these workers have families and strong ties to the community.

Asheville, NC – Recruiters from the U.S. Army thought they could sneak past University of North Carolina-Asheville (UNCA) progressives and radicals to recruit for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Right away, the local Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter was notified and several others mobilized to block their access to potential recruits outside the dining hall on the UNCA campus. Around a dozen students jumped into place holding anti-war and anti-recruitment signs. They were able to shut down the recruitment booth within an hour.

Asheville, NC – “What’s disgusting? Union busting!” Over 40 students with the Justice at Smithfield campaign began their countrywide tour here with a spirited picket of a local Ingles supermarket. Ingles stocks Smithfield products from the notorious Smithfield hog processing plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina. The Justice at Smithfield campaign will visit several major cities in the United States in a tour to raise awareness and build solidarity between trade unions, community organizers, student activists, and the Smithfield Tar Heel plant workers.

Asheville, NC – Students and community members confronted North Carolina congressperson Heath Shuler at the University of North Carolina at Asheville March 26.

Asheville, NC – Members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at the University of North Carolina Asheville and the Asheville chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) staged an exciting counter-recruitment action here, Feb. 5, that brought the war home to students at UNCA.