On March 27th, hundreds of students at Rutgers University left class to demonstrate their opposition to the continued occupation of Iraq. That day Rutgers students gave expression to what so many in this country are feeling: enough is enough. We are entering the 6th year of the occupation and now over 70% of the United States opposes the continuation of this war. Over 4,000 U.S. soldiers and over 1 million Iraqis are dead. Millions more are internally displaced or seeking refuge in nearby countries. Meanwhile, students in the United States are faced with rising tuition and insecurity as the economy enters recession. 

Since then, three students received a summons from the New Brunswick Police Department for the March 27th Walkout Against the War and charged with engaging in, "conduct which caused a physically dangerous or hazardous condition." The Campus Antiwar Network believes that the City of New Brunswick's targeting of students in the name of "safety" is misplaced. The U.S. government is responsible for creating the most "physically dangerous" and "hazardous conditions" for the people of the Middle East and U.S. soldiers by continuing the occupation of Iraq against the wishes of the people around the world. If Rutgers University is concerned with maintaining safety and security, they should instead revoke their own university's investments in companies like ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Raytheon, Boeing, L3 Communications that financially benefit from making the world a more dangerous place for us to live.

We call on Rutgers University to ensure the freedom of speech and assembly of their own students in the face of the intimidation by calling on the City of New Brunswick to drop all charges placed on these students. 

The Campus Antiwar Network is proud of our fellow students at Rutgers University who displayed courage in standing up for what they believe in, something the Rutgers University administration should be applauding, not punishing. We condemn all attempts to intimidate students at a time when voices are needed the most to stand for peace and justice. 

We will not be silenced. 

The Campus Antiwar Network 

Please sign the petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/DefRU3/petition.html