Tuesday, March 25, 2008, Noon, Wescoe Beach

On April 12, 1935, approximately 700 KU students joined 175,000 of their colleagues around the country – as well as thousands more in other parts of the world – in a one-hour strike protesting potential U.S. involvement in war. Meeting on the lawn in front of Fowler Shops (now Stauffer-Flint), student speakers addressed the crowd, denouncing war profiteers. Similar sentiments were heard that day on over 140 college campuses and in 31 countries around the world.

On March 18, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy opened his presidential campaign with speeches at KU and K-State. The newspaper reported that Kennedy startled his audience by saying, "The more riots that come out of our college campuses, the better the world for tomorrow," a quote he borrowed from William Allen White, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Emporia Gazette. Just weeks later, Kennedy was assassinated. Violent clashes over Vietnam and civil rights soon enflamed Mount Oread and the nation. (more . . .)

On October 15, 1969 thousands of people in Lawrence participated in the Peace Moratorium, believed to have been the largest demonstration in US history with an estimated two million people involved. At KU, students wore black armbands and attended workshops, while faculty used class time to discuss the war. Officials estimate that up to 5,000 students participated in the demonstration, marching peacefully down Jayhawk Boulevard from Strong to the Kansas Union

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008, KU students will continue KU's tradition of anti-war dissent by holding a demonstration against the war in Iraq. This month marks the 5th anniversary of the US war in Iraq. As of March 2008, the US occupation of Iraq has claimed the lives of 3,992 American soldiers, as well as the lives of over 80,000 Iraqis. The cost of the US war in Iraq has exceeded $500 billion dollars, an amount that equals approximately $1,721 per person.

Responding to a call by the New Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), which was a major force in organizing student opposition to the Vietnam War, KU students are calling all students, faculty and staff to participate in an anti-war demonstration on Wescoe Beach at noon on Tuesday, March 25th. Students are also organizing a teach-in at the ECM, 1204 Oread, at 7pm to bring a critical understanding of KU's ties to the war effort.

Why demonstrate? As the 2008 election approaches, we must show political candidates that the ongoing war in Iraq is still an important issue. We want to see the war end! If we don't show our opposition publicly, the press will forget to report that Americans are against the war in Iraq! Bring signs, banners, noise-makers and black armbands to show that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home!

Please forward this invitation to everyone you know in Lawrence!