Walkout

At the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 450 students attended an antiwar rally at noon and 300 marched through campus and into the community, occupying the main intersection in town before ending with a closing rally on the steps of the administration building. SDS, thirteen other student organizations, members of the newly-founded UNC Coalition Against the War, six community organizations and members of Iraq Veterans Against the War led the demonstration. "I'm inspired by the hundreds of students who were willing to leave class and march against this unjust war," said Abby Crownshaw, a first-year student and an organizer of the protest. "We brought our message of peace and justice to thousands of students, faculty and staff."

Many classes were unable to continue because of the noise of the protest. As the march wound through campus, students came up to the windows to watch, with many waving or displaying peace signs to the demonstrators. At the closing rally, the protesters renewed their commitment to struggle against the war and continue to build the mass movement across North Carolina in the coming year.

See also: UNC Chapel Hill SDS flyer distributed at the rally, The Movement Against War: 5 years of struggle (pdf)

Press round-up:

03/24/08 - Public outcry can influence policy on the war in Iraq [DTH]
03/24/08 - War protest was useful in promoting conversation [DTH]

Dear friends and allies at UNC,

This March will mark a grim milestone: the U.S. occupation of Iraq will enter its fifth year. After five years of war and occupation, over 1.2 million Iraqis and 4,000 U.S. troops have lost their lives, and more that $500 billion has been poured into the failing occupation, money that should have been spent making education more accessible to millions of young people in this country who cannot afford it, to provide healthcare, housing and jobs to all Americans, and to rebuild the Gulf Coast, which is still suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina more than two and a half years later.

WHAT: Demand Peace, Stop Violence and End the Iraq War!
WHEN: March 19, 2008 at 12:30pm
WHERE: Gather in the Pit for a Rally and March
WHO: Students, Faculty, Staff and Community Members

Join the UNC Coalition Against the War.

We are: Students for a Democratic Society, Black Student Movement (Political Action Committee), Feminist Students United, Young Democrats, Arab Student Organization, Student Action with Workers, Solidarity with Palestine through Education and Action at Carolina, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender/Straight Alliance, Criminal Justice Action and Awareness, Muslim Organizations Actively Integrating Carolina, Advocates for Human Rights, Prochoice USA, Native Health Initiative, and Animal Rights Collective.

This Wednesday will mark a grim milestone: the U.S. occupation of Iraq will enter its fifth year. That means five years that the people of Iraq have been forced to live under the daily violence of the U.S. occupation of their country resulting in the deaths of over 1.2 million Iraqis and nearly 4,000 U.S. troops.

UNC-Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society, in solidarity with over 75 other Universities and High Schools across the country (http://www.newsds.org/), is working shoulder-to-shoulder with the UNC Coalition Against the War to call on all students and community members stand up, walkout and speak out against the brutal war on Iraq. We will gather in the Pit at 12:30pm on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 for a rally and march.

The rally will include speakers from member organizations of the UNC Coalition Against the War and Iraq Veteran Against the War, Joe Gill. We hope that you will break from your daily routine on this day to join us in struggle against violence in all of its tragic forms.

The march will feature giant puppets, beats by Cakalak Thunder, radical cheer leading and more!