It is important to note exactly what these students were protesting. SFSU allowed the military on campus, a discriminatory apparatus of war and exploitation that attempts to recruit students with false promises of job training, education, and benefits. They coerce young people to go senselessly kill and be killed in an imperialistic war for profit and the domination of resources. By allowing military recruiters on campus, the SFSU administration is complicit, and an active participant in the war machine.

As the war rages on, students on campuses all around the country are standing up and then getting smacked down by their university administrations who want to maintain business as usual as the U.S. military destroys and ravages Iraq while threatening to spread the war to Iran. Bodies are piling up as the military grows more and more desperate to fill its ranks with able college and high school students. The SFSU administration has made it a priority to help them in this sick endeavor. Their loyalties lie not with the students, but with the exploiters and war profiteers.

The protestors, who were subjected to outrageous repression by the campus police and administration, stood up and fought back. On April 17th, the students held a press conference in order to defend their actions and condemn the liberal frauds that clearly stand on the side of war and exploitation. The response from the community and the country, which flooded the presidents office with phone calls and e-mails in support of the activists, forced the administration to momentarily back down. Later that day all 10 of the students received word that they were allowed back on campus. But the fear of future disciplinary action still loomed. A petition and open letter of support and solidarity has been signed by over 1,000 people, including many prominent members of the anti-war movement like Cindy Sheehan and Dahr Jamail. The signatories also include Denis Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary General who resigned in protest from his position as the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq.

Chief of Public Safety Kim Wible released a response to the open letter of solidarity that includes a litany of blatant lies, in an attempt to discredit the students and quell the anger that came after the public was made aware of the universitys actions. She asserts that the students were asked by the director of the career fair as well as the commander of DPS to leave before they were confronted and accosted by the police. This is a lie. She plainly refutes any instances of police aggression. There are photographs of the event that depict otherwise. And finally, she has the audacity to claim that the "University remains committed to the ideals of free speech." Chief Wible must be referring to the free speech students are allowed only in designated zones from the hours of 12-2pm. The hypocrisy of this university, that commemorates and celebrates the efforts of people like Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and Cesar Chavez, is nothing short of astounding.
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it " targetu003d"_blank" onclicku003d"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it </a><br><br>Robert Corrigan President<br>Telephone: (415) 338-1381<br>E-mail: <a hrefu003d"mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it " targetu003d"_blank" onclicku003d"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it </a><br><br>Penny Saffold Vice President / Dean of Students<br>Telephone: (415) 338-2032<br>E-mail: <a hrefu003d"mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it " targetu003d"_blank" onclicku003d"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it </a><br>Fax: (415) 338.6327<br><br>Sign the petition:<br><a hrefu003d"http://www.petitiononline.com/sfsu10/petition.html" targetu003d"_blank" onclicku003d"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">",1] ); //-->
Now the administration is trying to discipline the students further, just when they think no one is paying attention. They are most certainly wrong in this assumption. We are all paying attention and will not stand idly by as these hypocrites and war-facilitators, who claim to foster an educational environment of free-speech and respect for student activism, tries to punish and divide these students in the bureaucratic shadows of a "conference." These thugs will attempt to marginalize and isolate these protestors, who are in fact representative and a part of the anti-war majority in this country and around the world. The students will not be intimidated, as they acted in unity and will fight back in unity. They will not sit down and apologize for protesting the sexist, racist, and homophobic military that attempts to funnel people into a brutal and ceaseless war for economic and political hegemony. In this current crisis, it is imperative that students be allowed to protest and voice their concern and outrage without fear of reprisal from police or school officials. The struggle for a better world, one not plagued by the horrors of war and ruthless competition for profit must continue.

TAKE ACTION

Call, Email and Fax support to

Donna Cunningham Judicial Affairs Officer
Telephone: (415) 338-2032
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Robert Corrigan President
Telephone: (415) 338-1381
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Penny Saffold Vice President / Dean of Students
Telephone: (415) 338-2032
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax: (415) 338.6327

Sign the petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/sfsu10/petition.html