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Campus Anti-War Network pushes for world peace |
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Thursday, 14 September 2006 |
by LINDSAY CRAVEN
Lifestyles Editor
As Elvis Costello once sang, “what’s so funny ‘bout peace, love and understanding?”
This is a question that Appalachian State University’s Campus Anti-War Network wants students to raise.
The organization began last semester when senior interdisciplinary
studies major Loren B. Carty and graduate Shannon Thomas met at a
protest in Washington. The two met with an Appalachian State graduate
who was in the national coalition of the Campus Anti-War Network.
“Campus Anti-War Network is the largest and leading independent,
democratic,grassroots network of students opposing the occupation of
Iraq and military recruiters in our schools at campuses all over the
country,” according to www.campusantiwar.net.
Carty and Thomas decided they wanted to bring this back to Appalachian
and started looking for an advisor. The two decided on assistant
professor of English, Beth Carroll.
“Basically the three of us went through and figured out what we could
do with the organization,” Carty said. “I think there’s a lot of
younger people that are looking for something like this and want to get
involved, and this is more geared toward some of their interests.”
The group founded the organization because they wanted to get rid of apathy on campus.
“We want to get people to care and what we really want is to get people
to want to do something,” Carty said. “We want to get as many people as
we can to care and to really be hungry to know about our current
political issues.”
In other countries, the commoner knows everything about their government and here we are so comfortable in being told what we need to know, Carty said.
The group meets every Wednesday night at 6:30 in the basement of the Old Library Classroom Building.
“At most of the meetings we are planning our next event,” Carty said.
“A lot of our recent meetings have been talking about the International
Day of Peace, but if there is nothing that we’re planning we talk about
current, hot issues.”
The International Day of Peace takes place Sept. 21. It was established
by a United Nations’ resolution in 1981 to accompany the opening of the
U.N. General Assembly.
In 2002, Sept. 21 became the permanent date for the International Day of Peace, according to www.internationaldayofpeace.org.
Appalachian State’s chapter of the Campus Anti-War Network will work
alongside Boone’s Mountain Peace Makers. They host a three-day program
from Sept. 21 - 23, including teach-ins, a sidewalk march and
performances.
Two major events of the three-day process will be the “Food Not Bombs” meal and the Critical Mass bike ride.
“The ‘Food Not Bombs’ dinner is open to everyone to cook and eat and it
is all free,” Carty said. “It’s just everyone helping each other out.”
The Anti-War Network is also in the process of setting up a workshop with Lisa Fithian, an activist of 27 years.
The workshop will teach non-violent resistance and non-violent direct action, Anti-War Network member Billy E. Schweig said.
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