Thanks to all who helped organize peace rally
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Anti-war protest takes new approach
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Student walk-out had multiple goals

Editors, (note: this was originally sent to the editors of the Asheville Citizen-Times, but since they have refused to print it, I thought maybe AGR would) Asheville Global Report,

I must say that I was rather surprised when on Tuesday morning I opened up the Asheville Citizen-Times and saw the story “Students Plan to Walk Out of Class.” The reason that this was such a shock to myself and my fellow walk-out organizers is that we had specifically told both the Asheville Citizen-Times and WLOS not to speak to Asheville High officials or write anything about the event until 1pm, Wednesday afternoon. I guess that’s what we get for dealing on corporate media’s terms rather than making them work with us. This article totally misrepresented our cause. It simply says that the walk- out was to protest the war, but it just isn’t that cut and dry. We are also trying to amend the “No Child Left Behind Act” which has recently gone into effect. This law mostly deals with standardized testing, but there is one rather disturbing clause found in it that we wanted to bring to people’s attention. This clause forces public schools to turn over any information the military requests of a student without consulting the individual or their parents. This is totally unexpected and borders on unconstitutional.

In addition, we also hope to convince the Asheville City School Board to ban all military recruiting on campus during school hours. Many people have argued that the armed forces give many underprivileged children unprecedented advantages that they could find no where else. I would like to combat that point of view with a few simple facts: in order to even apply for military aid for college, one must pay a nonrefundable deposit to the army of one thousand two hundred dollars. And [college] money is only given after serving an entire term. A person receiving a less-than-honorable discharge, which one out of four veterans receives, will see no money whatsoever. According to the Army Times, the military actually receives millions more in deposits than it gives back in college aid.

Another common myth is that of the wondrous jobs military service can guarantee a person. Unemployment among young male veterans is 31 percent higher than that of non-veterans of the same age group. And young female veterans face a 58 percent higher unemployment rate than others of the same age.

Lastly, I would like to point out that we are not a “local chapter of National Youth Student Peace Coalition,” as this article would have people believe. Our name is the Asheville High Antiwar Coalition. The only actual link we have with any national organizers is that we share a common belief that the rape of the public school system by the United States military is wholly wrong, and that we will not sit idly by and watch it happen. The idea that the national organizers “tell children to cut class and violate the law” is a complete and total insult to the competency of all the organizers involved at Asheville High School. We have not and will not be manipulated by anyone. We are an autonomous group of students who got together and decided that it was time for us to have our voices heard. I will admit that we have worked loosely with students from other Western North Carolina schools and a representative of the nonprofit organization Education In Action while organizing this walkout. We have worked much too long and hard for this to have it seem as if we are simply pawns in some higher national entity’s game.

Sincerely,

Steven Pink
Asheville High Antiwar Coalition

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Anti-war protest takes new approach

Editors, Asheville Global Report,

Tuesday morning [Mar. 4] at approximately 7:30 am three banners were hung from overpasses along I-240 to express opposition to the Bush Administration’s drive toward war, as well as comments made by the president stating that he will not allow the protests of millions worldwide to deter his war effort. The slogans read: “War Kills,” “The voice of protest falls upon deaf ears,” and “When the government ceases to serve the people...,” the latter being a reference to the Declaration of Independence and our responsibility to prevent the tyranny of our own government. The sentiment behind the three banners is simple: the US government is no longer acting in accordance with the interests of its citizens, nor is it willing to listen to our legitimate concerns in the creation of this war. Our government is therefore neglecting its duty to protect and uphold the will of its people.

John English
Asheville, North Carolina

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Thanks to all who helped organize peace rally

Editors, Asheville Global Report,

On behalf of Spare Change, I want to thank those who worked so hard to hold the recent Mar. 1 Peace Rally in Pack Square. Our speakers and singers and poets were inspiring, and it was impressive to look out over a sea of peace doves and ‘No War for Oil’ signs! Thanks especially to those who drove from distant cities to be with us.

While a large crowd was present, rumors and fears kept others away. Given that the Bush administration has made permanent war America’s foreign policy, we will, unfortunately, have many more opportunities to learn to ignore rumors and overcome our fears and work together against war and for justice.

Charlie Thomas
Asheville, North Carolina

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