On March 4, tens of thousands of students and workers across the U.S. will be taking action against budget cuts, tuition hikes, and the privatization of education as part of the March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education. From California to New York, Chicago to Tuscaloosa, Boston to Milwaukee, Seattle to Knoxville, Gainsville to Asheville, and all points in between, students and workers will be standing up and speaking out on March 4 to defend education in what is shaping up to be one of biggest days of action this country has seen in years.

On Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=312083917612&ref=ts

A report back from a fact-finding delegation to Colombia

Monday November 16 at 7:00 PM — Murphy 116, UNC-Chapel Hill

RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=173315794784&ref=ts

"The government does not care for the poor and has completely abandoned us to poverty. Human life is worth only the value of a bullet." - Colombian Trade Unionist

Upon returning from their August 2009 fact finding delegation to Colombia, members of the Colombia Action Network and Campaign for Labor Rights have been touring across the country to spread the message of solidarity with the Colombian people, share eyewitness reports about the facts on the ground in Colombia, and build the movement to halt the proposed seven U.S. military bases in Colombia.

The delegation met with farm workers, students, and human rights activists and lawyers, and heard testimony from Afro-Colombian Communities, displaced peoples, and many that have experienced and continue to suffer from paramilitary violence. The delegation met with leaders and rank-and-file organizers in the Colombian people's struggles, and has a broad range of perspectives about the effects of U.S. intervention in Colombia.

Join us for a report from participants in the delegation, and learn more about U.S. intervention in Colombia, how this relates to the infamous School of the Americas, and what we can do to support the people of Colombia. The event will be Monday November 16 at 7:00 PM in Murphy 116, UNC-Chapel Hill.

We welcome endorsements and co-sponsors from other organizations, please contact us if you are interested!

In solidarity,

Students for a Democratic Society
unc.sds@gmail.com | http://www.chapelhilsds.org

Speak out against 8 years of war with Afghanistan!

Tens of thousands of Afghans killed.
Hundreds of billions of our money spent.
Sixty thousand U.S. troops being sent.

There will be no peace until the U.S. is outside of the Middle East!

IN THE PIT, OCT 7, 12 PM

We are calling for students across the country to protest the 8th anniversary of war with Afghanistan by taking action and demanding that the U.S. get out of Afghanistan now!

October 7th will mark the eighth year that the U.S. has been at war with Afghanistan, under the auspice of fighting "the war on terror." In eight years under occupation, tens of thousands of Afghans have been killed by U.S. air strikes, bombs, and bullets, and the Afghani infrastructure has been devastated.In just one day of this war, May 4, 2009, U.S. air strikes killed over 150 Afghan children, women, men in a village in Farah province.

The war affects us here at home as well. The number of U.S. troop casualties increases more and more each year that the war continues. By next year the cost of the Afghanistan war will be more than the cost of the Iraq war, with the U.S. government requesting $65 billion dollars for the war in 2010. So far the government has spent almost a trillion dollars in the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq. With that money, we could have paid for 35,068,800 four year university scholarships.

We, as students, have a responsibility to the people of Afghanistan to stand up, speak out, and take action against the war! We are calling on all students to sign-on and pledge to take action on October 7th to mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion. That action could be walking out of classes, occupying buildings, hosting a teach-in or film-showing – any form of protest to show opposition to the Afghanistan war!

Join us for a film screening of "Rethink Afghanistan" , a ground-breaking film that examines the daily realities of Afghan people living under U.S. occupation.

The eight year occupation of Afghanistan is becoming increasingly bloody as U.S. and NATO occupation forces are losing their grip on the country. Hundreds of U.S. soldiers are being killed. Airstrikes, bombs, and bullets from the occupation forces have killed tens of thousands of Afghan civilians. In just one day of this war, May 4, 2009, U.S. air strikes killed over 150 Afghan children, women, men in a village in Farah province.

Now the U.S. military wants to send more troops. We say NO! Join us for this film screening on September 29 and again on October 7, when students across the United States will take action on the anniversary of the U.S. invasion to say "U.S. Out of Afghanistan Now!"

Tuesday, September 29
Hanes Art 121, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Check it out on Facebook!
Sponsored by Students for a Democratic Society

Letter to the Editor of the Daily Tar Heel about Budget Cuts Crisis

The university is finally taking a step in the right direction by “chopping from the top" and cutting 900 administrative positions across the UNC system. However, these cuts came only after job and benefit cuts for many workers, including housekeepers and groundspeople, for years.

The university should not raise tuition for anyone in this period. While in-state tuition rates are limited by law, out-of-state rates have risen close to $20,000 a year.

We believe that education is a right, just like it is asserted in the UN International Declaration of Human Rights. With the proposed tuition increases, UNC shuts the door to higher education for hundreds of current and potential students who will no longer be able to afford attending this university. These tuition hikes will hit those of us who depend on financial aid and those who work to pay for school the hardest. The university should find the money it would raise from these tuition hikes from the salaries of its richest administrative staff.

We are seeing skyrocketing tuition and dramatically fewer class sections needed to graduate, and at the same time the U.S. continues to spend hundreds of billions of failed wars and occupations, rather than fund education. On top of that the state government refuses to tax corporations, even though there is little real evidence that low tax rates keep jobs.To make things worse, there are fewer jobs for young workers to pay off their debt.

It is time for our generation to take back our education and declare loud and clear, "Education is our right!" But as history has shown, only those who struggle to defend their rights have any hope of attaining them in reality. We must organize to secure our right to an education and to a future.

What: SDS Summer School--Media Training for Campus Activists
When: Wednesday, June 3, 5:30pm
Where: Internationalist Books (405 W Franklin Street)

Ever wanted to learn how to write a press release? Holding an event or action and want to get lots of media coverage? How do you get your message out when speaking to the media?

Come out this Wednesday to a workshop hosted by UNC Chapel Hill SDS for any campus activist who wants to learn the answers to these and many more questions about how to do effective media work. We'll be having an hour long workshop facilitated by Independent Voices producer Elena Everett, who will share what she knows about doing activist media work and answer any questions you may have!

Please spread the word to other folks and organizations you think may be interested!

This will be the first in what will be a series of skillshares and workshops for campus activists that will take place throughout the summer. Other workshops that we're planning to hold include a facilitation and consensus building training, flier making 101, and anti-oppression trainings, among other things. Keep an eye out for these and other workshops throughout the summer!

Please RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=83390690678

UNC SDS stands in full solidarity with the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action coalition (MIRAc) and its allies who committed civil disobedience at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Bloomington, MN on May 6, 2009. Exposing and condemning the terror-tactics used by ICE to arrest and deport undocumented workers and rip apart families in the process is becoming more important than ever. The radical right is using the economic crisis as an opportunity to promote xenophobia and attack immigrants and multiculturalism. Actions like the one undertaken by MIRAc last week are an essential part of any strategy to counteract ICE’s secret raids and the racist anti-immigrant hate speech of the radical right that promotes them.

Having recently come under attack from the press and the police here in Chapel Hill for our role in a protest against racist former-Congressman Tom Tancredo, members of UNC SDS have had a taste of the kind of police harassment faced by nonviolent protesters in Bloomington. We condemn police harassment and brutality everywhere and stand together with MIRAc activists who are fighting to make our society safer and more accepting for immigrants and to stop the ICE raids that poison our communities and destroy families.

The daring action undertaken by MIRAc activists on May 6 inspires us to continue in the struggle to make our society more open to immigrants and to counteract the radical terror-tactics of ICE and the hate speech of its right wing supporters.

In solidarity,

UNC SDS
May 14, 2009