it has taken a while, but it is finally happening. the school is Mt. San Antonio College and it sits on the east san gabriel valley. i think it is the largest community college in the country with nearly 47,000 students. the campus has a history of anti-war activism and counter recruitment. currently, there is only one group that is considered anti-war, but it is not a organization that makes the war a focal point for its organization nor is it serious about anything at all. besides, there is only 3 members in that club.i have found a couple of allies and one advisor who all seem very enthusiastic about this whole project and making a difference. i think CAN can finally make some head way in southern california during this fall!
i am open to discussion. contact me if you have organizing ideas or if you want to get in touch.
in solidarity dan o

today was the first day of the semester and so far so good. i originally thought going professor to professor was the best route for asking for their advisor sponsorship. but all that was unnecessary. the war is so un-popular, that i can virtually approach any faculty member and can anticipate a positive response. my approach was simple, "how do you feel about the war?" afterwards, i proceeded to talk to them about what my friend and i were doing and encouraged them to consider advising for CAN Mt. SAC with the understanding that CAN is distinct in its anti-war positions than most groups in the anti-war movement such as "iraq for iraqis" and "troops out now." my math professor could not commit because she has other commitments in the teachers union, but she was very enthused and supports every effort for any anti-war organization. moreover, she did commit to announce the club and other details of the group in her classes. thats all we can ask for. my political science professor was so supportive, he started sharing with me his ideas about organizing a discussion and debate about the war positions of obama and mccain. and he was very willing to be our advisor. the problem was that his schedule does not match greg's and my own (dan o). greg and i are only available mondays and wednesdays. until we find an advisor who can actually participate and officially endorse CAN Mt. SAC, we cant have our first official meeting. i have to send him more information on CAN, and we still have to decide our "official" meeting time. greg and i decided to organize our first meeting as a "public meeting" with the intention of attracting the widest layer of anti-war students as possible. the theme for the meeting: the case for anti-war organization. this is still a work in progress. i am open to suggestions and pointers.
-in solidarity, dan o

the campus immigrant rights group (students for immigrant rights: internationalist current) has decided to endorse our first public meeting! this is extremely helpful since campus rules state that no "officially" recognized student group have no right to hold meetings of any type, let alone publicize them. and we also decided to change the theme of our first meeting/public meeting to "what CAN you do to end the war." this is meant to attract the widest layer of anti-war folk. as of right now, we have 2 un-official advisors and 2 student members.

That is really exciting! Let me know if we can do anything for you... whether it is literature or ideas for creative actions

i appreciate that Ian. actually, for our first meeting ("what CAN you do to end the war", literature does sound great for building a long-term periphery for those who may not yet be convinced to join CAN immediately, or who may still have questions about CAN, or why we have taken up political positions that put CAN in the left wing of the anti-war movement and the general politics. in solidarity- dan o.

Wow! Great job! Keep up the good work. I know how hard it is to start a new CAN chapter.