Statements

Five years ago, George Bush, the Democratic and Republican Parties and the United States government committed what the Nuremberg Court called the “supreme international crime.” They waged a war of aggression against a sovereign nation, and they justified it with lies. They claimed Iraq possessed and was actively developing weapons of mass destruction. But it did not take long for the truth to surface: Bush and big oil interests had been planning this war for years. The real motives of this war are not defensive, nor are they altruistic; they are imperial. The U.S.

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.

We, the members of the UNC Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) stand in solidarity with the Jena 6, the group of six Black students unfairly charged with the attempted murder of a white classmate in Jena, Louisiana a town of 3,000 white and 350 Black residents. The school yard scuffle which ended in the six’s arrests was preempted by racist and criminal provocation after provocation by white students. It all began when a Black student sat under a “white” tree at Jena high school. The next day, nooses were hung in the tree to show that that racist history of the South will be kept alive through tradition and the use of force. Robert Bailey, one of the Black youth that was arrested was invited to an all-white party, beaten and “sent back to his side of town” by the police. Matt Windham, one of white males who attacked Robert Bailey threatened Bailey with a sawed-off shot gun and was never arrested. With every escalation in violence the school superintendent, police, D.A., and the all-white jury that convicted Mychal Bell of attempted murder sent Jena and the rest of the U.S. the same clear message: white youth are above the law and Black youth will be locked up and thrown away. The Jena 6 case has become a worldwide symbol for the continuing fight against the racist U.S. criminal injustice system. The pressure is mounting. Last week, the judge threw out Bell’s conviction because he was erroneously tried as an adult but there are 5 more youth awaiting trial. We demand that all charges be dropped against the Jena Six and we continue to stand in solidarity with their struggle.

This statement was read at a press conference on Thursday September 12 at the Pit.

We, UNC-Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society, are here today to honor the unbreakable link between students and workers. We are here in solidarity with the demands of UE150 and Chapel Hill/Carrboro workers for the University to halt its censorship of demands for collective bargaining. In addition, we demand that UNC administration support efforts of collective bargaining and engage in non-interference with unionization efforts. SDS is also here putting out the call to other students to join in this struggle against the blatant denial of workers’ rights. These workers drive our buses, clean our dorms and feed us everyday. This university works because they do. We as students need to support the workers in their internationally undisputed right to collective bargaining. Therefore, we join UE150's demands:

In 2002, Bush named Iraq , Iran and North Korea as the ‘axis of evil’. Since then, U.S. forces have invaded and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan. The war drums continue to beat against Iran and Syria , and an attack against Iran is now seen as inevitable.

As a strong anti-imperialist state, Iran is a direct obstacle to U.S. control over the region. The U.S. government and corporate media are creating an atmosphere of mass hysteria against Iran’s nuclear energy program. This is seen daily in the media’s portrayal of democratically elected President Ahmedinejad as a “new Hitler” leading a nation of “fanatical Islamists”.

UNC-Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society stands in complete solidarity with the nine activists attacked by police on January 11, 2007, and currently standing trial for their acts of resistance. The charges against the Greensboro 9 are unjust and represent further attempts by the state to stifle and suppress a growing popular movement against the criminal war on Iraq.

The actions undertaken by the Greensboro 9, and in mid-February by six members of UNC-Chapel Hill SDS, represent a larger tactical shift taking place in the anti-war movement, a shift from symbolic protest to active resistance, that many feel is vital if we are to shut this war down.

On Friday, February 16, 2007, six youth and students were arrested at Representative David Price's home office for speaking out against the Iraq War. Specifically, we demanded that Representative Price pledge to defund the Iraq War by voting NO on the upcoming $93 billion war supplemental. Second, we demanded that Representative Price use his power in Congress to urge others to defund the war and bring the troops home NOW! Third, we demanded that Representative Price resist any aggression against Iran, be it via sanctions or militarily.

Members of the UNC-Students for a Democratic Society have called, emailed, and met with aids in DC on January 27th to talk about defunding the war. We were told repeatedly that Representative Price's position on the upcoming supplemental vote was unclear. Additionally, members of the 4 th congressional district legislative action team that UNC-SDS organizes with, met with Representative Price himself, in Durham on January 26th to see where he stands on the defunding issue. Again, Representative Price would not directly engage the issue but only direct us to proposed soft legislation that asks the President to come up with an exit strategy or to hold contractors liable for fraud. It is important to note the Representative Price has voted for every single supplemental war funding bill thus far.

On November 15, 2006, students, anti-war activists, and concerned community members marched together down Franklin Street to protest the new Army recruiting station opening up in Chapel Hill. We chanted, yelled, and loudly proclaimed our frustration and disapproval of both the current war in Iraq and of the new recruiting station (issues which are undeniably related).

Upon the arrival at the recruiting station, we were surprised not only to find a group of veterans gathered for a counter protest, but also to discover that the recruiting station was not, in fact, opening on the day that we had been informed it would. The tension and confusion was almost tangible, but we proceeded according to plan. Several members of our Community Coalition gave speeches about their opinions towards the opening of the recruiting station and the Iraq war. Pam Schwingl spoke for the group NC Choices, a group dedicated to making high school students aware of their post-graduation opportunities. Emily McFarlane spoke on behalf of UNC-Chapel Hill’s chapter of Feminist Students United, Ben Carroll for UNC SDS, and Peter Gilbert for F.I.S.T. (Fight Imperialism Stand Together). As protesters we were spreading a message of peace, urging fairer recruiting practices and a crackdown on sexist and violent attacks in the military. And, as was expected, our message was attacked by the veterans. Their counter-arguments consisted mostly of name-calling and profanity, one young Iraq war veteran becoming so hostile and intense in his insults that the police had to politely escort him away.

On October 5th, over 50 youth and students rallied against the war on Iraq in the central part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus, while hundreds of students listened to the speeches.

UNC-Chapel Hill SDS led the hour-long rally calling for unconditional U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, with endorsements from UNC-CH Feminist Students United and Student Action with Workers. Protesters rallied with signs and banners while students and anti-war activists gave speeches demanding an end to the U.S. occupation of Iraq and calling their fellow students to action. Despite threats and intimidation from the campus police, UNC-CH SDS held firm in its stance against the ROTC and military recruiters on our campus, as several student speakers drew connections between the struggle against the military on campus to the larger struggle of shutting down U.S. imperialism.

The protest was the first organized solely by UNC-Chapel Hill SDS and sparked a significant amount of debate among students on campus. UNC-CH SDS will continue to protest the war on Iraq in the coming months, and is already planning a protest for November 7.

UNC Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society
October 12, 2006

On September 12, the UNC Chapel Hill Students for a Democratic Society (UNC-CH SDS) led a protest of over 120 people against John Ashcroft's visit to our campus. We chanted, we rallied, we disrupted his speech and we walked out to say NO to the "war on terror", Ashcroft's racist attacks on immigrants and Arab-Americans, the PATRIOT Act, and his legislative attacks on women's reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights. We are opposed to the use of $10,000 of our fees to pay for a speech from this bigot.

The protest was a success, thanks to the participation of the Feminist Students United, the Radical Cheerleaders, the Young Democrats, and dozens of students. Palestine, Colombia and Iraq solidarity activists, among others, spoke at the rally. Uniting together in a common cause, we were able to project our message loud and clear: "John Ashcroft go home! War criminals off our campus!"