Asheville, NC – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at University of North Carolina-Asheville and allied community members assembled at Pack Square Sept. 11, united to oppose bigotry, racism and war. The demonstrators stood determined to promote their peace and justice message in solidarity with the Gainesville chapter of SDS who were leading a large protest against Terry Jones and the Koran burning that same day.

There was a nationwide movement to stop the extremely offensive act. SDS is strongly opposed to the anti-Muslim trend being fostered by the rich and powerful, in particular Republican politicians and the Tea Party. The Ashville students and progressive people assembled despite the persistent rain and the reaction from the community was very supportive.

SDS member Sarah Buchner, who had the good foresight to bring an umbrella, was pleased with the turnout, “It really says something when people will get out despite the rain and stand up against racism and bigotry and support the principle of religious freedom. We know events like this are going on all over the country and we know we are sending a clear message: bigotry and religious persecution are not compatible with the truly free society that we want to create.”

In a turn of events, Pastor Terry Jones, the leader of the Dove World Outreach Center, under heavy public pressure from groups including Students for a Democratic Society, broke and decided not to burn Qur’ans. “I am not surprised about it,” said SDS member Michael Graham, “When voices are unified against racism and xenophobia like this, the promoters of division and hatred will always break.”

With nearly 30 people attending the rally, Asheville SDS is off to a good start for the school year. SDSers have already showed a documentary, Rethink Afghanistan and are building for the, Oct. 2 “Jobs, Education and Equality” rally in Washington D.C.

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Asheville, NC – Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a demonstration at the Federal Building here, Dec. 4, to protest the escalation of the Afghanistan War and to demand an immediate end to the occupation. This action was one of many nationally-coordinated events responding to the recently unveiled troop escalation.

Speakers at the rally addressed topics that included the right of Afghanistan to determine its own future without foreign occupation, Hamid Karzai's family ties to the heroin trade and the need to replace the imperialist system of the United States with a society that serves the needs of working and oppressed people.

Local SDS chair Sarah Buchner said, “We oppose the decision to escalate this failing war. The plan from the White House, to ‘surge’ more than 30,000 additional U.S. and NATO troops to Afghanistan in an attempt to prop up the illegitimate Hamid Karzai puppet government is an injustice, not only to the Afghan people, but to the American people as well. Every dollar spent on bombs and bullets to kill Afghans is money stolen from people here at home. We are in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and trillions of dollars are being spent on this war while that money could instead be spent here on people’s needs.”

SDS member Pete McKelvey explained why he thought it was important for students to stand in opposition to the imperialist war against the Afghan people, “What this escalation makes even more obvious is that the U.S. war in Afghanistan is more than a war, it's an occupation. It's increasingly important for students to take a stand because it was the youth vote that came out in strong favor of Obama. Clearly, the youth voice has earned the ear of the president. As the policies of the president drift further from his promises, students of this country are in an ideal position to use that voice and tell the president what needs to change.”

According to the call to action released by the national SDS antiwar working group, “We categorically reject U.S. wars, occupations and bombings of the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. The Afghan people have a right to self-determination, to control their own resources and take care of their own affairs. It is not the place of the U.S. to bomb Afghanistan into submission and control its destiny. The only way for Afghanistan to be free is for the bombings to halt and for all U.S. and NATO troops to leave the country immediately. We support the people of Afghanistan in their struggle for liberation and freedom from foreign occupation and domination.”

SDS member Josh Sykes said, “No amount of troops will be enough to stop the Afghan resistance to U.S. imperialism. The Afghan people, throughout their history, have made it clear that they will not allow foreign troops to ride roughshod over their homeland. They want what everyone wants: self-determination. They will fight until have they have national independence, and nothing less. The sooner the U.S.-NATO forces leave, the better.”

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Asheville, NC – One hundred students gathered on the steps of the University of North Carolina-Asheville’s (UNCA) Ramsey library today to protest against the administration cutting days out of the 2009-2010 academic calendar. With banners reading “Transparency now!” and chanting, “Let the students have your say, give us back our reading day!” students rallied for accountability, transparency and more student participation in decisions that affect them and the university community. The Coalition for Education Rights, made up of several campus organizations including Students for a Democratic Society, Student Government Association and HOLA (Hispanic Outreach for Learning and Awareness) organized the action.

The students then marched to Phillips Hall, the university administration building and staged a ‘study-in.’ Students reclaimed Phillips as their space and sat in and outside the building under banners to study for finals and to discuss problems at UNCA.

After the action, the provost met with the students and apologized for the lack of transparency. She also has promised that a committee will be formed in the fall semester that will include staff, faculty and students to decide on issues around the calendar and other issues.

In a recent article in the Blue Banner, the campus newspaper, entitled Administration fails to consult students on calendar changes, student body president Cortland Mercer and Student Government Association official Steven Haas state that the “changes have been made retroactively, without the consultation of students and are an offense to all those paying tuition and fees.”

This action took place only days after a delegation from Students for a Democratic Society took a list of six demands to Chancellor Ponder. The first two demands were, “We want a university that serves the people. We want a university that responds to the needs of the students, faculty, and staff” and “We want transparency. We want to know exactly how the current economic crisis is going to effect our education at UNCA.”

Other demands included a tuition freeze, a moratorium on lay-offs and job elimination and the safeguarding of departments like Women’s Studies and Africana Studies. More meetings with the administration to discuss these demands will take place in the near future.

“The action to take back the rights of students was a great success”, says Rachel McLarty of UNCA SDS. “With the organization of the Coalition for Education Rights and students standing up to fight against being left out of the budget cut discussion, we can really win some victories like this one. We can’t stop here though. We have to stick together and keep fighting.”

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