Commentary and News from CAMS Archive |
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REFLECTIONS on 2007 As the 2007 year comes to a close, we thank you for your support. Truly the work of CAMS is because of the hundreds of dedicated volunteers, that make it possible. I reflect back on the past year with mixed emotions. We have made a difference in hundreds and perhaps thousands of young lives, as we presented the truth and realities of military enlistment and had greater opportunities in LA high schools. School Staff and students in the CAMS Adopt a school project have initiated successful actions to keep military recruiters restricted on high school campuses throughout the city. And we have led the nation in drawing attention to student privacy issues, and how to effectively protect student privacy information especially on the ASVAB exam. Recently released Opt Out numbers in LAUSD were the highest ever, with the number of juniors and seniors in LAUSD at 26.1% or 20, 317 who resisted the school district’s releasing their contact information to military recruiters. Thanks to the many grassroots volunteers and activists, we have had many significant victories over the past year. We have also made connections across the borders with the world community in addressing the broader issues of privatization, globalization and militarism. Our support for the teachers in Japan who are being punished for resisting militaristic mandates by their government has strengthened and encouraged them. Ms. Kimiko Nezu writes, “We share the cause and aspiration of Sister Arlene Inouye and Brother Gregory Sotir who have been fighting to stop sending children to the battlefield to die. They told us that they will never shut their mouth in front of unjust things and that it is their duty as human being s to do what they thought right. It is exactly my own credo. I am determined to carry on struggle against unjust things together with you.” But the war continues, every day another young person enlists in the military for the same reasons- wanting to serve their country, lack of options, misinformation, and more and more for the bonus money offered. And along with the increasing militarism in our society the links to administrative secrecy and spying, torture, an economic downturn and growing poverty, profit over people, and the heartless denial of basic human needs and social services confronts us all, with the greatest impact falling on those on the fringes of society. We have a greater urgency and resolve to continue and expand the work of CAMS in the next year. We are privileged to be living in a time of history where we have the benefit of learning from our past, and the technology to be a part of a global community working for a common purpose. Let us push forward in 2008 with a zeal for peace, and justice where human dignity is honored everywhere. Peace to all. <><><><><><> Solidarity Across Borders Imagine being able to travel across the Pacific to an island where your ancestors came from over 100 years ago. And there embrace and support Japanese teachers who have chosen to go against a Tokyo School District militarist directive at great personal cost (including suspensions, reassignments and the threat of firing, as well as all the negative consequences of a society that expects conformity.) These courageous teachers refused to honor a Japanese flag that is the symbol used to incite hate, massacre, and mass lynching during World War II. And they refuse to sing the Kimigayo (His Majesty’s Reign) which led to the aggressive wars that killed 20 million Asians. These teachers have proclaimed, "Never send another student to war again!" What an honor and privilege to stand together in unity with these brothers and sisters and to present with them a resolution supporting their struggle on behalf of the 48,000 teachers of the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) and CAMS. We also came to support the struggle of the Japanese workers and community as they oppose the expanding military bases in Okinawa and throughout Japan and as they uphold their Article 9 in the Japanese Constitution that says no to war and Yes to peace and a sustainable world for all, and as they oppose the revision of school text books that omit references to historical facts regarding Japan’s brutal killings and mass sexual slavery during World War II. We also joined together with international labor workers from Japan, Korea and the United States who endure inhumane conditions, and are abused by corporate interests. This includes farmers whose land have been stolen, immigrants and refugees facing discrimination without rights, and workers who are treated as indentured slaves. Hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder we marched through the Ginza, the downtown streets of Tokyo. We stood with the Korean union workers, who said,“Today American political and military order and its hegemony are crumbling around the world; our hope exists in workers and people who oppose war and resist poverty and discrimination." Comrades, keep fighting with stronger solidarity. The fight against privatization, corporate take-overs, and military buildup in these countries and others around the globe reinforces our connection to each other. Our struggles are the same. We will not be deceived, and fragmented while those with power push more people into poverty and powerlessness. International solidarity! The human spirit of caring, love and support is universal; the hope for peace, love, justice and freedom is a human longing everywhere. Gambaron! (Japanese word for “fight”) We fight in unity. Gambaron! <><><><><><> Making Child Soldiers Militaries around the world exploit childhood vulnerabilities- and the U.S. is no exception. In fact, the United Nations has condemned the United States for the enlisting of minors. Sixty percent of the 1,000,000 active and reserved soldiers enlisted as teens to fight the never-ending wars on terrorism. More info is at “America’s Child Soldier Problem”, Rethinking Schools, Fall 2007 A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Military Recruiters as Career Counselors Something very disturbing is developing. The changing approach of military recruiters is adapting to today's youth. They are appealing to youth as guidance counselors, mentors and coaches who want to help youth succeed and offer them a variety of resources such as on line test preparation, tutorials, and surveys to guide their future. What they don’t tell the youth is that they are using this mode to seductively steer them into the military, believing it is the path to a successful future. They are like wolves disguised in sheep’s clothing, and I find this dangerous and deceitful. A couple of recent developments in the Los Angeles Unified School District substantiate this point. National Guard recruiters attended a 12th grade assembly at Franklin HS in Northeast LA passing out career direction booklets that at first glance had nothing to do with the military. They encouraged students to fill out the interest survey (which by the way included their contact information), and to return it to the recruiter. The students, sensing something dishonest and becoming suspicious, did not turn in their survey. At the same time, high school principals and career advisors were courted with an expensive military sponsored lunch buffet and the marketing of the online program www.marchtosucess.com sponsored by the army. School staff also heard from a variety of speakers about all the values of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery or ASVAB, a free military aptitude battery called “Career Exploration”. Do you see what I mean? Military aptitude disguised as career exploration. A large poster put up in our high schools shows a marine corps recruiter with a stern face saying, “think of me as your high school counselor.” The new face of military recruiting would like you to believe that the recruiter has your best interests in mind. They want to gain the trust of teachers, parents, and especially students. But thsi Marine is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Let’s hope our youth can see right through this deception, and walk away, as they did at Franklin HS. And let’s support all students being given the information and opportunities for positive life choices for their future. STUDENT PRIVACY CAMPAIGN Operation Opt Out How do you get a minor, like a high school student, to do something they may not want to do but that you want them to do it? Besides outright force, you can entice, mislead through false advertising, use peer or family pressure and throw money at them. The Pentagon does all of the above, and they add more- infiltrating the minds of our young through a culture of militarism, and later stealing their privacy. Let me explain. It has been five years since the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President Bush and it is shocking but not surprising that parents, students and teachers are still unaware of this federal law which bribes school district into giving away the contact information of secondary students. The NCLB Act, Section 9528 states that military recruiters must have the same access as career and college recruiters, and are to be given the name, address and telephone number of secondary students unless an Opt Out form is signed and returned. In LAUSD it’s juniors and seniors only. Strange that an education law that is supposedly encouraging student achievement actually penalizes schools and students for meeting unrealistic standards based solely on a questionable testing regime. It boils down to legitimizing a process for private corporate interests to control our schools, and make money off our students- while pushing them into the military. And without question, the majority of school districts have not done enough to inform, educate, and support the rights of students and parents to Opt Out. There is NO reason for schools to do any less than announce the deadline of October 26th, by hanging up large signs and banners at the school, to communicating with students and parents at Back- to- School night or registration, and in short, making sure every secondary student has the information. So this year, despite how insignificant this Opt Out issue is in the larger scheme of military recruiting- we are publicizing it widely. We will launch our 4th annual Operation Student Privacy campaign in the valley, where we have heard of aggressive military recruitment and school officials who give them preferential treatment. Join us at Canoga Park HS, Monday Sept. 17th at 2:30 p.m. as we call out the press, and pass out the forms to students leaving schools. And join us in the Operation Opt Out campaign to inform students and parents until the deadline of Oct. 26th. Last year, 20% or one out of 5 students turned in the form, this year we will express our resistance raising the numbers to one in three. Education not Militarization! <><><><><> A Dream Unfulfilled The Department of Defense steps up their recruitment in the summer. These months are traditionally considered the best for military enlistment. Military recruiters have had particular success with the Latino community, up by 22%. It is also reported by the DOD that only one in five Mexican youth attends college and 6% of Hispanics are college graduates according to 2002 statistics. Military recruiters will also be getting some help from an unlikely source -large mainstream Latino organizations such as League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund (MALDEF) and Mexican American Political Association (MAPA). They have embraced immigrant reform legislation that includes the DREAM Act which stands for Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors. Additionally, in July, undocumented students from the California DREAM Network, began a fast in several cities designed to accelerate passage of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. This Act creates a path to a green card for undocumented youth who arrived in the United States before they were 16, have lived here for five years, and successfully completed high school. Those who met these requirements would have received provisional residency that would become permanent once they complete two years of college or two years in the military. I might add that there is no such thing as a two year military contract it’s 8 years of your life). The Pentagon states that about 8,000 permanent residents currently enlist every year. The DREAM Act could conceivably open the floodgates to some 750,000 undocumented military age youth who meet the requirements. Many may not feel that they have the money for college, nor feel academically inclined. On the issues of non-citizen soldiers, Mary Spicuzza tells the story of Angel Gomez, an immigrant from the Mexican state of Jalisco in a recent article from the SF Weekly. His mother said “he wanted to study, and we couldn’t pay for it. I knew he was fighting for a better life, but I told him I would prefer him to be poor and have a humble job.” He enlisted in 2003, and two years later was sworn in as an U.S. citizen. Unable to raise his right arm, he sits in a wheelchair and wears a plastic helmet to protect his brain. He was finally a citizen, but without the future he had hoped, like many more, including over 125 green card soldiers who have died in the combat zone. CAMS joins Somos Raza, Latinos Unidos de Glendale and many other grassroots organizations in opposing this legislation. Contact your legislators and tell them “NO” to the condition of military service for legal status and “yes” to an equitable process that gives every student unconditional right to higher education and the opportunity to the pursuit of happiness. <>><><><> FASHION RESISTANCE TO MILITARISM The CAMS peace RUNWAY march will be like nothing you’ve ever seen. This coalition of students, teachers, parents and community members have united to present fashion resistance to militarism, with freshly designed outfits and casual wear for students to professionals that showcase creating, envisioning and being the change that they want to become. See the students from Marshall, Garfield, Roosevelt, San Gabriel, Culver City Middle School, Homeboys and Homegirls and designers Eye One, Humanvise, Marissa Garsen and more. Veterans Maricela Guzman and April Fitzsimmons will share their experience about what every girl should know before enlisting. The models will present an alternative to the popular camo, or camoflauge pattern that is manufactured to be everywhere, from the glossy pages of Jay Crew, to suburban malls, to back packs, hoodies, and fabric to decorate the rooms of little boys and girls, cell phone covers and onezies. As stated by the Women of Color Resource Center in Oakland,"military clothing has been appropriated and endorses the military industrial complex." Cheap surplus textiles such as bomber jackets, pea coats, and cargo pants took to the streets in the 60’s, and later became associated with the anti-establishment. “Camo makes me feel strong” echo the youth of today. But as it becomes normalized, we also normalized all that is associated with the military cultural mindset - torture, violence, and killing. We now silently endorse, by our purchases, the horrors of war. In this process we silently dehumanize ourselves and others. But it’s not just fashion that has become further militarized, after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, sales of GI Joe dolls, bazookas and war toys increased. A bombed out doll house called "Forward Command Post," was introduced complete with splattered fake blood! It is no wonder that by high school, most youth will have played with war toys and video games their entire lives and will be prime targets of military recruiters. Please join CAMS in our efforts to inform youth and the school community about the issues of militarism and in providing nonviolent alternatives. Support our Fashion Resistance Fundraiser on Sat. Sept 29th at Art Share , 801 East 4th place, downtown. All students will be admitted fee, with a $35 rate for admission and dinner prepaid, and $25 for admission. Dinner is at 6 p.m. with doors open at 7 p.m. for the “show.” Special events include an auction of canvas prints, clothing and accessories for PEACE. Don’t dress to impress, dress to address-the militarism in our schools.<><><><><><><> LEAVE MY SON ALONE A St Louis mother of three school-aged children, the eldest 17 years of age and a high school senior, recently contacted us. She states, “in the midst of a particular stressful period for my family just before the death of my mother, I found a message on my home voice mail from a Missouri US Army reserve recruiter. Surprisingly this message was for my son, asking him to return the recruiters call. As my son is a minor and my home phone is unlisted, I phoned the recruitment office and politely asked to speak to whomever was in charge. The recruiter indicated that he was in charge and verified that he was the person who called, Sergeant Richardson”. I began to request that he remove my number from his call list. Before I could even finish my request, I was hung up on. Giving Sgt. Richardson the benefit of a doubt, I called back and said, “I believe we were cut off. As my son is a minor and my number is private, I am asking you-“Click. Stunned I called a third time, asking, “Wait, why you are being so rude to me? You phoned MY number. All I am asking is—“Click. After composing myself, I called a fourth and final time. I was immediately hung up on as soon as I said, “Just please leave my son alone.” She later says that since the incident I’ve spoken to other parents of high school and college students who say these calls are commonplace. “I find it increasingly disturbing that the military can now practically come into our homes and take impressionable minors without any regard for our rights as parents. Going into the schools is bad enough. What I want to know, do these military recruiters have a right to call MY unlisted number, which is on a do not call list for telemarketers”. My response to this mother is YES, they are allowed to call you (and have an illegal database of minors) and have many ways of getting your privacy information. But NO, you don’t have to put up with it, and should take action. The Opt Out clause of the No Child Left Behind states that parents of minor secondary schools can request privacy by checking off and signing a form and returning it to the school (the process varies by school district). Many students and school communities have Opt Out campaigns to inform the students and parents of their rights. Use this clause to oppose the military contacting your home for any reason, at any time. Organize with others in your school to address aggressive military recruiting. Contact your school administration, Governing Board of Education and your Congressperson and let them know how you feel about this intrusive military marketing for war. This mother ends by saying, “I am increasingly aware of the threat the American military presents to my children and their future.” CAMS is launching our Operation Student Privacy on Monday September 16 at Canoga Park Highs School, 6850 Topanga Canyon Blvd, 2:30 p.m. in front of the school. Let’s all join together in making a difference now, and for the future.<><><><><><><>< Military Access to Public Schools: Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools Halts Recruiters The United States military is deeply intertwined with the educational system in this country. The cozy relationship between the two is as normal as apple pie. For over 25 years a handful of organizations have addressed the militarism of public schools and highlighted alternatives—but since the invasion of Iraq, the counter-recruitment movement has exploded. Counter-recruitment efforts rose to meet the stepped-up pressure posed by the war in Iraq, but also because of challenges posed by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB, which President Bush signed in 2002, mandates that high schools provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of secondary students unless parents explicitly “opted out” from doing so. NCLB also allows military recruiters the same access to high school students as college and career recruiters. As a speech and language specialist at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles, I witnessed blatantly harmful military recruitment practices first-hand after NCLB was enacted. Uniformed military recruiters walked around the high school campus, freely talking to students, promising money for college and sign-up bonuses. National Guard calendars were posted on the walls of the counseling offices, “Go Army” key chains held the faculty bathroom key, large cut-out military figures were stationed in the hallway, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) pictures and trophies were displayed around, and photographs of preschool children posted in the school office bore insignias of the Marine Corps. In response to these and other blatant recruiting efforts, we formed the Coalition Against Militarism in our Schools (CAMS) in 2003. CAMS is a grassroots organization of teachers, students, parents and veterans set up to educate others about military recruitment in the Los Angeles area. We first presented our concerns to the our Teacher’s Union and the Board of Education with the help of the Human Rights Committee of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). The Human Rights Committee designed a T-shirt, “A War Budget Leaves Every Child Behind,” and enthusiastically supported plans for a teach-in on the war and its impact on our schools and students. Recruitment at Roosevelt High CAMS began our counter-recruitment efforts at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles, long-rumored to be the most highly recruited school by marines in the nation. Roosevelt High is the second largest high school in the nation, with more than 5,000 students on a multi-track, year-round system in a working class neighborhood. More than 98 percent of the students are Latino/Chicano. To limit recruiter access to students CAMS first clarified the military laws of NCLB for members of local school districts. We found that school districts, principals and school officials incorrectly thought that NCLB allowed military recruiters full and open access to school children, contrary to the student protections outlined in the California Education Code. They simply did not know that it was their legal responsibility, as school officials, to notify students of their rights to “opt out” of military recruitment efforts. Secondly, we informed students and parents of their privacy rights to withhold information from military recruiters (by opting out of the NCLB and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery—a “voluntary” exam that recruiters use to persuade students of their suitability for the military). Students and parents exercised their rights by speaking to the Los Angeles Board of Education about limiting the military’s aggressive pursuit of students at home and at school. We also flyered schools with brochures, sponsored documentaries like the Veterans For Peace’s Arlington West: The Film, and provided students with information about other great possibilities that exist for their future outside of the military. Four years after these efforts began, we can see the difference. At Roosevelt, the School Leadership Council passed a policy on military recruitment to limit military recruiting on campus to tabling once every three months. Military personnel/recruiters are also no longer permitted to approach students individually unless they have prior approval by the school administration. Since we began our “Operation Opt Out” project, the “opt out” numbers for Roosevelt have more than tripled, jumping from 267 in 2003 to 762 last year. Our work at Roosevelt High School has showed what can be done to shift the school culture away from militarism while offering students alternatives for their future. Reaching Out, Creating Networks For the past three years, CAMS has expanded its work from Roosevelt High to other middle and high schools in the greater Los Angeles area, connecting school staff, parents, student organizations and individuals with grassroots community and neighborhood organizations. Some parents and children have testified about their experiences. Spanish-speaking parents, for example, told interpreters about the number of unwanted phone calls they received from military recruiters. They explained that many of their children were involuntarily placed into the JROTC, and described the difficulty of getting them out. Armed with information such as this, we organized a large city-wide event and set out to inform the Los Angeles Board of Education about the military recruitment abuses occurring at many schools. We also have broad connections to other states. For our “Adopt a School” project, our network encompasses the United Teachers Los Angeles teachers’ union, state and national unions along with over 35 organizations, 17 colleges and 50 high schools. This project works with a volunteer student, teacher, parent or community member who serves as a representative of CAMS at the school. We provide legal and district information pertaining to military recruitment and equip the representatives with proven strategies and a tool kit for action. CAMS also encourages organizing in our schools, which includes strengthening existing groups and forming student activist Peace Clubs. Students have learned about their rights to pass out flyers and brochures that counter the military literature. CAMS is a founding member of two new websites that provide information to students about their alternatives to military enlistment. The National Network Opposing Militarism of Youth is a national network of groups working to stop the militarization of schools and young people; Project Great Futures provides southern California youth with information about alternatives to military enlistment. It is not easy to sustain a movement in our schools. It requires patience, a long term commitment, relationship-building and a united effort among activists, students and teachers. But change is not only possible; it is an imperative if we want a different future. Education, not militarism, gives us hope. <><><><> HORRORS of WAR Congress can save us or break us as a positive, benevolent, healthy society. They are complicit in making funds available for war, because they hold the purse strings of the trillions of dollars that are needed for war. Whether you voted for Congress or not, YOU are SOMEBODY, and you can painlessly make a phone call at your convenience, even before breakfast. In Iraq soldiers and civilians receive some of the worst bodily harm imaginable, while the environment has also enervated. Explosives result in the screeching of human beings as they are mutilated and killed. Weapons of Mass Destruction boggle the mind. Depleted Uranium infects the person who touches it, and high flying airplanes can casually drop bombs and chemicals that kill people. The pilot and crew do not see what has happened to the people below. The tragic lives of the injured, both physical and mental sometimes are never cured. Most soldiers who survive or healed are ordered back to Iraq. Meanwhile, U.S, sons and daughters that come home in bodybags are unobtrusively buried.. Meanwhile the U.S. public has purposely been uninformed and misinformed by the government. Meanwhile the media is just beginning to become aware of how to inform the greater public about war over there, and how it effects our freedoms here at home. The horrors of war are not fantasies for friend and foe. The $720 million a day for the war in Iraq is unconscionable. Congress has the necessary tools to withhold money for war and the ability to solve differences in a non-violent manner. Call Senators & Congressional Representatives because they have the facts and responsibility to STOP FUNDING IRAQ WAR, NOW! Adele Siegel is the designated Mother of CAMS <><><><><><> Why I went to the National Education Association Representative Assembly As a Speech and Language Specialist who began countering the military after the onset of the Iraq occupation in 2003, working with the educational community, including teachers and teacher unions has been important and the foundation for the Coalition Against Militarism in our Schools (CAMS). We are fortunate to be part of a local union (United Teachers Los Angeles) which has supported our work and allows us to have teach-ins and conferences on connecting the war at home and abroad, write articles for the union newspaper, and endorses our Operation Student Privacy. We will also be presenting a workshop on militarism in the schools and alternatives at the UTLA Leadership Conference in late August 2007, and tabling information about our upcoming campaigns. We are aware of how far we have come, but also know that there are teachers who continue to feel that we are “anti military” in a negative way, and are attacking the sacred JROTC programs. And our Superintendent in the second largest district in the nation, and his inner circle, are retired military officers who reflect a military perspective. Working with teachers and students directly in the schools has multiplied the impact of our work. In addition to the grassroots strategies we have employed in the schools through our Adopt a School Project in over 50 schools in the greater Los Angeles area, we also address issues at the school district level, including policies and the monitoring of military recruitment. This past year we added another approach to our work in the schools. We felt that it was important for us to take a leading role in the teacher’s unions and with congressional representatives, in addressing the military recruitment provision in the No Child Left Behind Act. I feel that this mislabeled education act is finally being seen for what it truly is about, a profitable venture for corporations who want to privatize schools and a disaster for the students it was supposedly designed for. It is fundamentally flawed, and the teachers unions are finally taking a stand to eradicate, erase and reauthorize the NCLB. We feel this is a great opportunity to inform educators about the negative impact of the NCLB in relation to increasing military recruitment contact in many of our schools, and the releasing of student privacy information to military recruiters. We have raised these issues and presented resolutions and action items at the California Teachers Federation and National Education Association (see Rethinking Schools, “NCLB and the Military: A California Teacher Union Passes Antirrecruitment Resolution” by Gregory Sotir, Summer 2007). I personally attended the California Teachers Association (CTA) conference and presented a workshop on strategies to demilitarize schools and present alternatives last March. Then I became an elected California delegate to the National Education Association Regional Assembly (called RA) held in Philadelphia in July 2007. The NEA, the largest democratic body in the world with over 10,000 voting delegates, began 150 years ago in Philadelphia with about 87 teachers. Today it stands strong with a membership of 3.2 million teachers with California having the largest delegation numbering approximately 1,000 teachers. It was a moving experience to be engaged in the democratic process to improve the educational system and address important concerns with other educators. I first tried to pass a resolution on the issue of the invasion of student and parent privacy which was not accepted by the resolution committee for reasons that are not clear to me. I then learned that the most effective strategy would be to write an action item (called New Business Item), which would reinforce, strengthen and continue the communication about the military in the schools that we worked to pass 2 years ago. (At that time, most teachers were stunned to learn that the NCLB Act had a section addressing military recruitment). I wrote the statement below, obtained the required 50 signatures of delegates who supported the item, and then moved it to the California delegation, which approved it to the floor of the RA. But it was surprising to me that with only a few exceptions, the vast majority of the state delegations supported it! It states the following: NEW BUSINESS ITEM 49- Adopted as Modified I presented a three minute speech before 10,000 teachers, with 4 speakers lined up to express support, and to shut the debate if appropriate. I was able to present current information on the military marketing for war including the number of private contractors now surpassing the US military, its budget and goals. Only one teacher spoke as an individual in opposition. Basically her argument was that even though military recruiters exaggerate and misrepresent the truth, we need soldiers to enlist or there could be a military draft. But our speakers countered with strong statements. Andy Griggs spoke about the first time the issue was raised 2 years ago and how he spent 20 minutes just answering questions about section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act because the educators did not know about military recruiters receiving privacy information from the schools. Janet Davis, another UTLA member, shared her experience as a parent, when she came home to find a military recruiter at her home talking to her son, without her permission or knowledge. The debate was shut down and overwhelmingly passed with loud “ayes”. Throughout the week I was also supporting the efforts of the newly formed Education Not Incarceration (ENI) caucus, which has had a presence in previous assemblies, but has become a central focus of NEA this year. The term “push outs” was accepted instead of the commonly used “drop outs” to more clearly address the serious problem of 50% African American and Latino students not completing high school as an institutional issue, not an individual one. NEA has adopted a 12 point plan which ENI is helping to implement under the leadership of Julie Washington, a UTLA vice president, a strong advocate for the most disenfranchised students. There were many other issues addressed during the 6 days including opposing vouchers, and the privatization of education, against war and to support the veterans when they return, against segregation and inequality in education, to give further support to educators impacted by Katrina, to support the international struggle of teaches unions, and to support the humanitarian efforts to end the genocide in Darfur. On the other hand, there were unclear statements made about our position in support of undocumented students, and a large contingency wanted language to state that NEA does not support abortion. As can be expected in a democratic process, there was controversy and differences of opinions, among the 95 business items brought to the RA. There were also the glitzy speeches by the major Presidential candidates present- Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Barrack Obama, Bill Richardson, and the one Republican candidate, Mike Huckabee. It was the first time Presidential candidates had ever appeared before the body. Since it was my first RA, I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought that those in “red states” might be very resistant to restricting military recruiter access in any way, but just as personal opinion has shifted, I believe educators have shifted too. And by raising the issue in front of this large body, it is a way to validate that it is an important one and encourage others to take action. One thing I didn’t expect was to meet a number of veterans who were totally supportive of our efforts, and after hearing about what we do, wanted to participate and join us! One Navy veteran who was in the armed forces in the 90’s told me he was so angry about the lies told to him about military enlistment, that he wrote to Congress about it, and was quite vocal. He said that he wanted to tell students in classrooms about his experience. After I presented the business item on the floor of the RA, a man came up to me and asked me if I was the same person who was on the PBS NOW show passing out leaflets in front of a school. After acknowledging that I was, he informed me that he shows the DVD to his students in Georgia, and that they will be thrilled to know that we met. We shook hands and he told me “you’ll never know what a difference you are making.” I later wrote him, appreciating the impact HE was making, in a school where one can not openly oppose the military. I sent him a packet of resources and information about NNOMY (National Network Opposing the Militarism of Youth). He later wrote “Just thought you should know that I served in the U. S. Marines Corps from 1987-1991. Sometimes we find allies in the most unexpected of places. “ I did find allies at the National Education Association, and a process with the potential to move the school system forward. Change is not only possible, but I believe imperative if we want to transform the educational system. We are the ones we have been waiting for. <><><><><>< Celebrate True Heroes: Augustin and Helga Aguayo The military ads show men and women strong and fit, jumping out of planes and climbing over walls, showing us what it looks like to be all you can be, and to be an Army of One. But there’s a different kind of strength that can’t be measured by how physically daring one is, or even how accurately one hits the target. There is the strength of being a conscientious objector, a person who chooses the path of humanity and nonviolence even in the face of danger. We don’t hear much about CO’s as they are called- possibly Mohammed Ali is the most famous, but through out the history of this country, there have been thousands who have refused to fight in wars. Here in Los Angeles we celebrate Agustin Aguayo who is back from serving an 8th month prison term in Germany for refusing a second forced deployment to Iraq. Augustin enlisted right before September 11, thinking it was a way to support his family. But after being deployed to Iraq, he experienced a war based on lies, and as a medic saw first hand the death and destruction our military was causing. He refused to participate in the killing, would not load his rifle, was ostracized and later sent to prison. In the military you can not be a person of conscience, you are not supposed to question nor refuse orders. Augustin and his wife Helga are heroes for choosing the harder path, the way of honoring life and the Iraqi people. It comes with hardship, not only for Augustin but for the whole family as his wife Helga testifies for herself and their two daughters. The cost of choosing the way of peace is great and their struggle will go on. But they both continue to make an impact by speaking to youth in our high schools throughout Los Angeles and to live as models of courage and truth. We are all encouraged by Augustin and Helga and as a community it is our responsibility and joy to support and be part of their extended family. Come to the celebration and join Latino artists, Pablo Paredes, Fernando Suarez del Solar, Iraq Veterans Against the war, CAMS and many others on Friday July 27th starting at 6 p.m. with tamales at UTLA 3303 Wilshire Blvd. A $10 donation is requested for the Aguayo Defense Fund. See www.aguayodefense
<><><><> A Dream Unfulfilled The Department of Defense steps up their recruitment in the summer. These months are traditionally considered the best for military enlistment. Military recruiters have had particular success with the Latino community, up by 22%. It is also reported by the DOD that only one in five Mexican youth attends college and 6% of Hispanics are college graduates according to 2002 statistics. Military recruiters will also be getting some help from an unlikely source -large mainstream Latino organizations such as League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mexican American Legal Defense Education Fund (MALDEF) and Mexican American Political Association (MAPA). They have embraced immigrant reform legislation that includes the DREAM Act which stands for Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors. Additionally, in July, undocumented students from the California DREAM Network, began a fast in several cities designed to accelerate passage of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. This Act creates a path to a green card for undocumented youth who arrived in the United States before they were 16, have lived here for five years, and successfully completed high school. Those who met these requirements would have received provisional residency that would become permanent once they complete two years of college or two years in the military. I might add that there is no such thing as a two year military contract it’s 8 years of your life). The Pentagon states that about 8,000 permanent residents currently enlist every year. The DREAM Act could conceivably open the floodgates to some 750,000 undocumented military age youth who meet the requirements. Many may not feel that they have the money for college, nor feel academically inclined. On the issues of non-citizen soldiers, Mary Spicuzza tells the story of Angel Gomez, an immigrant from the Mexican state of Jalisco in a recent article from the SF Weekly. His mother said “he wanted to study, and we couldn’t pay for it. I knew he was fighting for a better life, but I told him I would prefer him to be poor and have a humble job.” He enlisted in 2003, and two years later was sworn in as an U.S. citizen. Unable to raise his right arm, he sits in a wheelchair and wears a plastic helmet to protect his brain. He was finally a citizen, but without the future he had hoped, like many more, including over 125 green card soldiers who have died in the combat zone. CAMS joins Somos Raza, Latinos Unidos de Glendale and many other grassroots organizations in opposing this legislation. Contact your legislators and tell them “NO” to the condition of military service for legal status and “yes” to an equitable process that gives every student unconditional right to higher education and the opportunity to the pursuit of happiness. Si se puede: Stop the Militarization of Latino Youth It came out on the Hispanic PR Wire on April 12, 2007. The US army has launched the “Leaders Among Us” (LAU) program to foster a deeper relationship with Latino youth. LAU events will take place at select universities in LA, San Antonio, Miami and Chicago May through October 2007. The LA event was to be held on May 10th at Cal State University Fullerton. The wire states that LAU is a major interactive rally with onsite activities drawing from the JROTC programs in high schools. Three thousand students will be bused to the event to hear first-hand testimonials form active duty and retired soldiers. Guest speaker and award winning recording-artist Kevin Ceballo stated, “This is a great way for young Latinos to find out more about the opportunities offered by the US Army. I’m proud to be a part of it.” The emcees for this event will be Latino 96.3 FM KXOL with deejays Nico Jones and Nio Encedio. Highlights will include a video wall featuring Hispanic Soldier stories and a special reception for teachers, coaches and parents. Students will also participate in an obstacle course and physical training competitions. Missing in the announcement was the underlying purpose for this marketing spectacle that uses popular deejays, musicians and climbing walls to seduce Latino youth to blindly sign up for war. Missing is the fact that the Army needs young recruits for ongoing wars, and they especially need Latino youth to enlist in numbers proportionate to their growing population in the U.S.. News flash on May 3rd -after hundreds of phone calls protesting this event, Cal State University Fullerton officially canceled the ROTC/Army recruiting event as announced by the Students for Peace and Social Justice of CSUF, who had mobilized many organizations and students across the city to protest this event. This included the Campus Greens, MESS, Third Wave, MEChA, QSA, Peace Witness LA, Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against War, AFSC and CAMS. It is the grassroots organizing of people collectively working together that has made a difference. So we celebrate and instead will have a Rally for Peace at Cal State Fullerton at 10 a.m. on May 10th to demand: Stop the War, Bring Our Troops Home, Demilitarize our Campuses Now! Let us never take for granted the power of the people who bring out the truth, and stand for peace and justice. We will be vigilant as the US Army will continue to spend billions and find enticing ways to trap our young into a system of war and death. Si se puede, we can and we must stop the militarization of Latino youth now. The Privatization of War By now most people know the cost of war disproportionately impacts working poor and youth of color, the youth heavily targeted by military recruiter and the ones that enlist in higher numbers across the nation. This has been called “the poverty draft” to highlight that these youth often enlist because they see no viable options for their future. When a military recruiter promises a senior in high school close to graduating $20,000, $50,000, and more, plus benefits if they enlist, more than a few are interested. To any teenager it sounds like a lot of money. Students tell me that they enlist for the benefits. Often these benefits are exaggerations or lies or no more than what an employer would provide- but because they hear the military pitch over and over- the message stands out. Military advertising is advantage everywhere today including MTV, the internet, in the movie theatres, in the mall, mailed to where the high school student lives, and in their schools. We can be sure students know about the military promises. But what they don’t know, and what their history books and family probably won’t be able to tell them about, is the dramatic change in the privatization of the military from mercenaries. Under the clock of fighting a war on terror, the current president and his administration (especially the recently resigned Donald Rumsfeld) have sweepingly transformed the military system and made private contractors an official and integral part of the war machine. These contractors have provided the Bush Administration with political cover, allowing the government to deploy private forces in a war zone free of public scrutiny, with the deaths, injuries, and war-crimes shrouded in secrecy. They have grown and now have nearly a one-to-one ratio with active-duty American soldiers. This is estimated as 100,000 on the ground in Iraq. In addition, in no bid contracts they earn four times more than the frontline grunt and in many cases take away the jobs they were trained to do. The young enlistee who thinks that he is fighting for freedom, may quickly learn that in reality he’s fighting to give corporations such as Halliburton, Blackwater, ExxonMobil, General Dynamics, and others billions of dollars of tax money with CEO’s (not the soldiers, not the Iraqis) having the most to gain. Don’t you think our young people should know about this…before they sign up for war? Before the young put their lives and future on the line? We of CAMS believe it is wrong, immoral and unconscionable that our youth pay the costs while corporate CEO’s sneakily get the benefits. Join our movement and stop the militarization and exploitation of our youth! NCLB, Globalization, and Militarism Public education today faces no shortage of great challenges. Many of these challenges come from the private sector and extreme conservative forces within our culture. In many ways, the current debate on re-authorization of No Child Left Behind is a clash of these forces and challenges and the more reasoned forces of teachers actually in the schools. Youth, too, face many challenges. Globalization has diminished their future economic viability, college admissions has turned to serving the narrow objectives of the upper-classes, prisons are expanding, and war continues ... endless war always continues. Educators have been pushed to a place where we cannot even question or debate the merits of an educational environment that does not include the institutionalization of nationalism and laissez-faire capitalism. All solutions must come from the private sector! Voucher schools and contract schools are the wave of the future! As curriculums de-evolve into a blueprint for the interests of business, music and arts have fallen away. Perhaps poetry is next... And students who don't make the grade for college admission, or do not want to go into massive debt at their graduation at 21, have an open door waiting for them with the military. But who, in our 21st century world, does the US military fight for and protect? The very forces of globalization and privatization in America require child-labor and slave-labor factories, corrupt despotic dictators who can enforce conditions that are beneficial to companies and provide unregulated access to resources such as oil and water internationally. This is the new American way of 'doing business', and our soldiers are there to fight for and to protect transnational corporations bottom-line. Our 'resource-wars' will not be going away under this corporatized American regime. We have also entered the frightening process of privatizing the military with mercenary forces who have already been issuing commands to troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Section 9528 of NCLB is a mere 300 words buried in a 670 page document that funnels student information into the Pentagon. It allows military recruiters access to all public high schools receiving Federal money. We must amend or eliminate Section 9528. NCLB is a travesty that does a disservice to our youth, placing the needs of a corporate agenda requiring endless war above the need for intellectual expansion and growth of America's youth. Here's what you can do: Agitate on NCLB, particularly Section 9528. Hold an NCLB discussion meeting with fellow educators. Call or write, or better yet, visit your Congressperson and tell them your concerns. Ask them to review NCLB and not re-authorize it without input from parents, educators, and teachers’ union officials. Ask your elected representatives to eliminate Section 9528 of NCLB, the one that allows military recruiters to roam at will and funnels student phone numbers into the Pentagon. Calling your Senators and Congresspeople and letting them know you care about NCLB and student privacy, and are tired from the negative effects of military recruitment in your public schools is essential. You need to teach your Representatives about NCLB. Call today, before the NCLB lobbyists from the testing companies arrive. Demand a meeting with your representative. Washington DC House switchboard: 202-225-3121 Washington DC Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121 When you talk to your Congressperson or Senator remind them that: ~ ESEA "NCLB" is up for reauthorization in 2007 and educators are the best informants for student and curricular needs. ~ Section 9528 of ESEA "NCLB" jeopardizes student privacy and was put into the ESEA without any input from parents and should be removed from the Federal Act. ~ Representative Honda and Kucinich have just reintroduced a Bill in the present 110th Congress and it needs support. The bill, H.R. 1346, amends the 'No Child Left Behind Act' and blocks schools from releasing student information to military officials without parental consent. <><><><><><><> CAMS: Celebrating the past year Student by student, one by one, and sometimes in the tens and hundreds, the truth about military recruiting and presenting nonviolent alternatives to students has been won. As we end the 2007 school year and reflect on the work of CAMS we once again are reminded of how much we can accomplish together and the powerful impact of a united coalition. The foundation of CAMS is a broad based coalition of students, teachers, parents, community and veterans who are working together to demilitarize our schools and present nonviolent alternatives through a variety of strategies and interconnected actions. For example, students supported by adults in the schools have been actively monitoring military recruiters in their schools, tabling and handing out the pamphlets about military recruiting at Back to School Night, and forming Peace Clubs or bringing militarism issues to existing clubs. Screenings of Arlingtonwest film have been shown to thousands of students across the city followed by a panel of veterans, military families and conscientious objectors. Upon hearing the personal stories of soldiers, students are deeply impacted by their emotions and are changing their minds about enlisting. Teachers are bringing students to visit the real Arlingtonwest depicted in the film, a memorial in the sand north of the Santa Monica pier. Here from dawn to dusk every Sunday, students are joining others to set up the crosses, pay tribute to the soldiers who have been killed, and to fulfill requirements for the new LAUSD service learning project curriculum. The community has supported CAMS by joining our Leafleting Team effort which is a joint partnership with the neighborhood group Palisadians for Peace. Since July over 30,000 pamphlets have been given to students in ten public high schools around the city in addition to other neighborhood leafleting efforts Although there have been a few threats to call the police, the leafletters have mostly been met with a positive response. Students have expressed an interest in this information and many administrators have even given us a thumbs up and smile. Efforts at the school district level are also necessary to insure that military abuses and harassment issues are addressed, and that privacy laws protecting students and parents from military recruitment are enforced. We have been able to provide the school district with specific examples of district policy violations and federal laws and hold military recruiters accountable for their actions. Our newest program- Project Great Futures www.projectgreatfutures.org brings together partnerships with college and career recruiters, apprenticeship programs, job training and other nonprofit organizations. Together we are informing students of what the alternatives are along with a new edition of our booklet Great Jobs, Great Futures in collaboration with the American Friends Service Center. We are grateful for the support of so many of you, who have made these efforts possible, and have helped us carry out our vision this past year. Working together has a powerful impact. Thank you. Warhead to Tow These feet once marched to the cadence of a Drill Sergeant. They now have blisters from pounding the streets of LA and New York protesting the war. These feet have not danced since the invasion of Iraq. But I still do have feet. And all ten toes. Some Marines do not. These knees bent alongside others, to plant thousands of crosses in the ground for Arlington West, a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Iraq War. They kneeled next to Stefanie Pelkey as she adorned a cross with memories of her husband Michael, who shot himself on their couch after returning from Iraq. These knees no longer bend for this president, priests or prophets. But I do have knees. Some soldiers do not. This chest, my heart’s suitcase, once filled with pride of country, now rises and falls with the body count. This chest, once laden with Meritorious Service medals, is heavy with shame and remorse. Soldiers emptied their suitcases into the desert, filled the cavity with sand and returned home. It is hard to breathe with this chest. These arms held an M-16, an anti-war sign and Schnitzer, a Korean War vet, wobbly with cancer. These hands dealt seven-card stud, clutched a grease pencil to track Soviet Aircraft and flipped the bird to a driver that cut me off. They reach out to shake the hand of returning soldiers unless they misplaced their hand in Iraq. If that’s the case, the case of the soldier’s misplaced hand, my arm grabs the opposite, before our eyes meet. These hands that used to fire off snappy salutes, now dial my representatives and scribble madly, the muddled stories of our troops, our outrage and our occupation. They are cramping now, these hands. They are tired. But I still have ten fingers and two arms. Some Iraqi children do not. This mouth. This voice. Always loud, once sang songs in boot camp and recited the pledge. This voice said yes sir, no sir, I do and good-bye sir. It whispered urgent prayers to god and ghosts. This voice, contractually suppressed for ten years, questions faulty intelligence. This voice tells her story of being attacked by a fellow service member, so she can unleash the silenced voices of thousands of women waiting to know that it’s now safe to speak. This voice sounds out the names of the thousands of Iraqi’s who have died. This voice calls out to those still serving: Please come home. But I do still have a voice. Those wives, husbands and children, who have cried themselves to sleep with loneliness, do not. These ears once had time to listen to Francois Hardy, David Gray and Gustav Holst. Now they must listen to public radio to deter the cacophony of deception. These ears heard the second plane hit and the call to war. They heard the Texan, the puppet master, and the skirt, mining for morsels of fractions of crumbs of intelligence to pull focus to their Project for the New American Century. They heard the doctors spin W.M.D.’s, Saddam, Al Qaeda, Iraq, patriotism, yellow cake, fear, winning, terrorists, smoking guns and mushroom clouds. These ears listened to troops, sick with guilt, unable to serve a fourth tour. These ears heard how an R.P.G. can slice a man in two. But I did hear these stories because I still have ears. Some Marines, the ones that stood next to the heavy artillery, can no longer hear music or their son’s laughter or the call for the next war. These eyes don’t see terrorists, they see scared people. They don’t see Senators, they see scared suits. They don’t see a president, they see a scared man bound for hell. These eyes brim with tears as mother after mother cradles a folded flag to her chest and falls to her knees. These eyes look away as a soldier with a burned face and a robotic leg buys a soda at the Circle K where the front-page story is about 8 Marines killed from a roadside bomb. He plunks down $75 for a tank of gas. These eyes have begged to go dark, to end what they are seeing. These eyes have fought to wake up from the nightmare. But I do have both eyes, unlike the man with the purple-hearted eye patch. This mind. What mind canreconcile this war? Not mine. Not Yours. This heart. What heart can share this pain? Mine. Yours.
<><><><><><>< “Dear God, The work of CAMS primarily focuses on the youth who are marketed and recruited in our high schools for war. Their lives are dramatically altered if they relent to the aggressive recruitment and lure of the armed forces. But there are other young people who are impacted in a serious and devastating way. We must always remember the young child- from birth to adolescence, and the impact of war and loss on their young lives. In the normal development of a young child, they search for and need care, protection, expressions of love and security. When this is withdrawn, such as when a parent, sibling or significant adult is away for a long time, suffering from a severe injury and psychologically traumatized, or killed, the child’s critical life needs are neglected and they suffer greatly. Whether in passively withdrawing, crying or aggressively acting out in anger, these babies and children are hurting inside. Children are very sensitive to the feelings of their care givers, and also bear the emotional costs. A 4 year old daughter whose father was in Iraq, knew in her heart that he would be killed, and said that her Daddy would be dead like in the Lion King. And unfortunately, her intuition proved correct. A family reported that the father who had completed his service and returned home from Iraq came back depressed. He took a gun and blew his brains out in desperation. His suicide note said that he had killed children, seen children murdered on the street, and seen the dead….a lot of horror, misery and no respect for anything. His nine year old son found him in the bedroom and tried to repair him by putting his brains back in before getting his Grandmother. This nine year old boy is heartbroken, he’s horrified. He says he wants to go with his Dad. He understands the meaning of death and suicide…and wants to die too. The son wants to go to Heaven to be with his Dad. Children bear the cost of war. How do you heal a child who knows the pain of a family member, a loved one gone, or suffering. How? A child wrote a letter to God saying: “Dear God,
Child’s Play We all know that the Pentagon is desperately seeking youth to keep enlisting into the armed forces. In recent months, this has included waivers for criminal offenses and lowered standards and scores on the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery). It seems that when it comes to military recruitment, there is no ethical boundary, no stopping the Pentagon from finding new ways to get the numbers. But how far will they go to insure that the militarism in our society continues? And when will the American people no longer allow soldiers that are young and vulnerable? The messages we give our children about what is valued in this life is directly and indirectly communicated from birth. Babies and toddlers learn societal expectations about being a boy or girl, and we teach them that guns are ‘cool.” And girls aren’t left out in cute pink camo clothes or a bombed play doll house that was introduced after the invasion of Iraq. The available war toys, guns, and fighter jets are endless. Military recruiters resort to gimmicks (including recruiting at the paint ball competitions) and the glorification of war for recruitment. An advertisement in the LA Times and Pasadena Star News on three days in February proclaimed an Army Strong Giveaway Event. It announced “Come to the LA or W. Covina Recruiting Station on March 2, 2007 for a chance to win an xbox360, and check out over 150 ways you can become Army Strong”. What are we saying to our young when we allow them to be seduced by the lure of toys, of getting a material item in exchange for their lives? How are students supposed to understand the line between play and real life. Also a new film called Transformers will be opening this summer which will captivate young people. Guess what? The film is not just about toys...it is also very pro- military. The movie is based on the wildly successful toy line and animated series of the same name, featuring morphing robots that battle each other. This popular children’s TV show of the same name contained an attempted murder every 30 seconds. The US military feels the transformers movie is going to have a positive impact on recruitment according to producer Ian Bryce. The line between fantasy and reality is being intentionally blurred. How long will we accept this glorification of war and guns as child’s play? Haven’t we had enough children killed through violence, gangs and the military? Let’s question the values and let’s question the mission. There is something wrong with a society that lures it’s own children to kill other people’s children in a foreign land. Thanks to CAMS members Ross Plesset and Jan McFarlane for providing the information on these recruiting tactics. <><><><><>><> The Invisible Women in War March is designated as Women’s History Month, and March 8th, as International Women’s Day. Although women in today’s society have more opportunities and have advanced in certain areas, it is significant that we still need a month to recognize women, as if to say women are important and have made significant contributions. There are large numbers of women, many at the bottom of society who deserve recognition and honor. When it comes to war, women are exploited, and suffer in a multitude of ways. Women in Iraq and Afghanistan bear the horrific deaths of loved ones being murdered and severely injured. Women are also victimized around the hundreds of military bases where they are forced into prostitution, are raped, and become displaced and underpaid workers. In the United States, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and wives mourn the killing of their loved ones in an immoral, unjust war. Seventy-one coalition military women have been killed in the Middle East since 2003, and at least 450 women have been wounded in Iraq. Women caretakers struggle as they attend to their loved ones who daily suffer from TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), severe mental and physical health needs. They also are the ones to comfort and support traumatized children. We remember the growing numbers of women in the military who are sexually assaulted or harassed during their service. Women are reporting that they are forced to carry knives, not for the Iraqis, but for the guys on their own side. Presently more than 16,500 American female soldiers are in the military- fighting in combat and coming home with missing limbs, horrid wounds, and severe trauma just like men. Yet despite the equal risks women are taking, they are still being treated as inferior soldiers and sex objects by many of their male colleagues. And there’s the invisibility of women of color, who are a majority, over 50%, of the women in the military. Eli Painted Cow, a retired veteran of 22 years, tells of being a Native American in the military. It was the strong warrior tradition that lured her into the armed forces with the desire to be self-sufficient. As a woman she faced double discrimination, and despite the fact that she put her life on the line, she was often viewed as the enemy. I shudder to think of the high school girls of color, who face economic conditions that make them feel the military is the only option for gaining independence, self worth, and strength. If only they knew what they would have to give up. Women of color are the invisible warriors, the ones who bring life into this world, and greatly suffer when life is snuffed out. Let us remember the women, not just this month, but every month. And let’s continue to fight for justice, equality and human rights for all women around the globe. <><><><><> JROTC The title of the front page article in the Los Angeles Times on February 19, 2007 frames the issue “Junior ROTC takes a hit in LA, at Roosevelt HS a coalition of teachers and students work to end the program, and its numbers are dropping.” The pro JROTC voices are upset, with the implication being that no one should oppose that which is almost sacred in our society- JROTC with its proud tradition of teaching discipline, respect, endurance and life skills including power point presentations. And with personal stories of students who would have dropped out of school had it not been for JROTC, the other side is frequently left out. It’s not mentioned that if one fraction of the district funds, and privileged class size benefits were given to any of the successful alternative programs out there-the results would be even more striking in turning away students from gangs, or dropping out of school, but without turning them towards the military. And the victim in the article is painted to be first Sergeant Harrington who is leaving the school, because it states that he is sick of the battles. He actually was planning on leaving because he wanted to move to his hometown. I find it interesting that JROTC instructors become the victim when this program is questioned and exposed for the true intentions of military recruitment as stated in their own Memorandum 50-US Army Recruiting Command that states “The purpose of JROTC is to enhance recruiting efforts.” The truth is that NO teacher or adult in schools has the same access to youth that JROTC instructors are handed. The military is given preferential treatment and held to a different standard. No other teacher has the low student to teacher ratio (sometimes under 10 students per class in overcrowded schools, so low that they resorted to putting students into the program involuntarily), no other teacher can work without a standard teaching credential, no other teacher has the curriculum freedom to deliberately go against school district policy on safety by putting rifles and guns into the hands of youth, and to teach a military perspective of history behind closed doors. No other program in LAUSD is given carte blanche 3.1 million dollars of district taxpayer money without oversight. And yet the teachers and students who question JROTC are labeled, targeted and even turned against. But the voices of those who counter the military are rising and the people are applauding. We have broken into the military stronghold and status quo at Roosevelt. That takes courage, commitment and guts. The article also gave visibility to the movement in our schools to oppose the militarization of our youth, to call it what it is, and to work for alternatives. This is happening in cities and rural areas across the nation. This movement needs support. Join your voices with ours- see militaryfreeschools.org and projectgreatfutures.org <><><><><><><><><><><><> My Influences In reviewing anti-war sonnets to use with my students I started to wonder about the early literary anti-war influences in my own life. There were many and I always sought them out. As a child of the Vietnam war era, I knew that the news and the government often only told a small sliver of what was happening as a result of American foreign policies. Now we have the entertainment industry, for the most part, actively engaged in government propaganda and war-recruiting efforts as well (thanks to Ronald Reagan!) But as an English teacher today, in a culture intractably caught up in a permanent war footing and economy, and while teaching a social justice curriculum I look back on the literary influences that made me who I am with a certain longing. I wonder today if youth are being presented with enough alternatives to the war machine. So here is my list of books that forced me to think, my list of 'dangerous' books that all young adults should read in their quest of trying to understand what has brought our nation here today: My list of Anti-War literary Influences (in order of being read by myself starting around grade seven) 1: Born On The Fourth of July by Ron Kovic (Ron is currently involved in Veterans For Peace and is on the CAMS advisory Board ) 2: Johnny Got his Gun by Dalton Trumbo (perhaps the most personally influential anti-war book in my list) 3: All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque 4: "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats (a poem written during World War One and the Irish 'troubles') 5: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (I read this first in my freshman year of high school and now reread it yearly, just brilliant) 6: The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski (a scary book) 7: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 8: Addicted To War by Joel Andreas Other important literary influences for my present social justice philosophy during my high school years were Henry Miller, Federico Garcia-Lorca, Ursula LeGuin, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. If you have any additions to this list send me an email and I will compile a new list. All of these works are literary with the exception of Addicted To War, which is historical and contemporary. These days there are many, many non-fiction books being written and published that expose and analyze the danger of our times. Seeing the film "Children of Men", based on a novel by PD James, yesterday spurred me to create this list. <><><><><> "Among pretences that have ceased to deceive." So, here we are again, about to repeat the same mistakes, hearing the same klaxon call to battle, the same litany about the eternal enemy, and feeling the burn of the same accusations of traitor in our ears. We put our faith in our elected representatives to stop this madness. But these are the same legislators, more or less, that not only green lighted the last collective massacre of humanity by American firepower but also brought in the incoherent, test-driven, one-size-fits-all, privatization mechanism known as No Child Left Behind, with Section 9528 allowing military recruiters to prowl the hallways of our public high schools emanating glitzy sales techniques and holding the phone numbers of your children. Perhaps we should look backwards even further than our media driven short term memory would allow: Home Service "At least it wasn't your fault" I hear them console When they come back, the few that will come back. I feel those handshakes now. "Well, on the whole You didn't miss much. I wish I had your knack Of stopping out. You still can call your soul Your own, at any rate. What a priceless slack You've had, old chap. It must have been top-hole. How's poetry? I bet you've written a stack." What shall I say? That it's been damnable? That all the time my soul was never my own? That we've slaved hard at endless make-believe? It isn't only actual war that's hell, I'll say. It's spending youth and hope alone Among pretences that have ceased to deceive. Geoffrey Faber This sonnet, written during World War I by one of the founders of the Faber And Faber publishing house (imagine if a CEO today would write an anti-war sonnet...Impossible!) is going to be a part of my eighth grade English Persuasion Unit (my principal has banned me from teaching Addicted To War by Joel Andreas, she says it is too complicated for my students.) I plan to have students read ant-war and some pro-war sonnets, create a real sonnet themselves, then read persuasive articles by veterans and peace activists on the current war, such as an article by Pat Tillman's brother about the war and death, and then have students create their own written persuasive document that can serve as a base for their own Conscientious Objector kit. Whatever our legislators decide, my students will enter a high school in July where the military recruiters will be on them faster than the students can memorize their class schedule. And with the invasion and decimation of Iran, the oil companies will demand more soldiers to protect our 'interests' and the Draft will happen. But that's where we are today in America "Among pretences that have ceased to deceive." <><><>< Growing the garden At this time of year I usually start to work the for ground for my garden and so here I am out in my Venice yard raking up the dead leaves, picking up the sticks and small branches that fell in the last windstorm, carefully opening the earth with my three fingered fork and seeing how the humus clumps....it's good. It is a wonderful time of year. I just wish that the events of the world were mirrored by my felling for growing a garden, but alas they are not: the Pentagon is ordering new death rays our manufacturers are happy to build, for a pretty dime, the president is calling for 21,000 more soldiers, or is it really 48,000 in his fractured mendacities, two aircraft battle groups position themselves just south of the new target Iran, the newest massacres in Iraq seem to stir dim memories of the Gulf of Tonkin, the Maine, and other presidential calumnies from the past. And the weather is just plain weird. The politicians, always good at doing harm by doing nothing issue a non-binding resolution...I mean is there even a point? And oh, let's not forget the record profits of the oil companies, because I think that should be important, even though it is of course not about oil. Back to my gardening I listen to the birds flutter around the feeder, and watch the cats lazily snooze, and think about my students working hard to learn what I am trying to teach them so that they can succeed, in a broken down school at the end of an empire. I wonder about the gardens that other American youth are seeing now in foreign lands, gardens obscured by smoke and watered with blood and cluttered with ordinance, gardens taken over and replaced by sudden cemeteries. I wonder what they grew over there, before the earth and the people living off of it became less important than the oil beneath it. I wonder if over there, over in Iraq, there is someone like myself, looking out a window and saying the time is right to go out and once again put their hands into the earth and to smell the rich black dirt and think of beans, and tomatoes, of cucumbers and parsley and oregano and flowers. An old Beatles song floods into my memory, Looking through the bent backed tulips To see how the other half live Looking through a glass onion drum drum ringo! I told you about the fool on the hill I tell you man he living there still Well here's another place you can be Listen to me Fixing a hole in the ocean But the song ends in my reveries. It is old. I wonder about the man looking at his torn up garden in Baghdad and wondering about what will grow and if he will get the chance. Or if the garden has become so horrific that only more burial plots will grow there. <><><><> Wish List Dreaming and wishing upon a star can be the first step to making a fantasy into a reality. And so, in expectation of the possibilities, and in hope that what is good and just will prevail, I want to dream about CAMS for 2007. But first….a word of thanks. CAMS has been on a wonderful journey. It has been my joy and amazement to experience the development of CAMS from an idea…..to reality, from a few persons……to hundreds. But it is also the quality of this experience in solidarity, in struggle, in compassion, and in nonviolence that bonds us together. My wish for CAMS in 2007….
I wish for the U.S. leaders to admit their mistakes and the miracle that leads them to a different path of withdrawing troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and working for global peace, social justice and substance of the earth. And I wish for the grassroots to rise up relentlessly and not accept anything less. I wish that all we do in the coming year will make a huge impact on lives- lives in Iraq, lives of colonized and oppressed people everywhere, enlistees, and how students think about war and their participation on this planet. I believe this is the most important time in our country’s history. I wish for us to make a difference. Arlene Inouye, CAMS Coordinator
<><><><><> Spreading the Truth Students at Jordon HS in South LA equipped with the education about militarism in the schools and a shoe box of brochures kept in the school locker are ready for the military recruiters. When the navy recruiter makes his weekly visit and sets up his recruitment table, the students spring into action. The Student Body President and Vice President also request a table and hand out “Things You Should Know Before You Enlist” and other counter recruitment materials. The result is that students did not visit the navy recruiters table and instead took the alternative brochures from their peers saying, ‘this makes sense, tell me more.” This has led to a group of students who want to start a club opposing militarism at Jordan HS. At Santee High School just South of Downtown Los Angeles, students from La Raza and CAMS have made up their own educational flyer briefing students on the history of the Latinos in this country, whose land was stolen, and the use of war as a tool of oppression. This is resonating with students, who feel that war in Iraq was wrong and unnecessary. Students are mobilizing in many places across the city. Information is power, as students take actions opposing military recruitment and war. The CAMS leafleting team, which began with members of Palisadians for Peace, has now grown into a group of volunteers citywide. This team has traveled to schools in the Los Angeles area that have been heavily targeted by military recruiters. They are available to schools who are requesting that brochures giving the reality of military enlistment be distributed, and to assist any group interested in starting leafleting at their school. They come prepared with large signs in Spanish and English saying “Recruit for College not for War”, “Opt Out! Just say NO to Military Recruiters! “and hundreds of brochures that say, “Do Military Recruiters tell the Whole Truth ? Inform Yourself!” The volunteers arrive in the cold mornings before the start of school letting students know that they care. First amendment free speech rights, gives community members this right. <>><><><><>< Thinking About Joining the Navy A 12th grade student, Carlos Cortez at Roosevelt HS in ELA wrote in his December school newsletter, about the frustrating dilemma facing him. He states: I am in a situation where I have to make a decision that will determine my future. I am thinking about joining the NAVY and have a ship date for August 6, 2007, or go to college full time. Of course my number one priority is to attend school full time, but I haven’t received an acceptance letter yet, and I don’t know if my financial aid will be enough. The Navy recruiter told me that if I joined, they will pay for all my school tuition. In the 4 years I will be serving I can travel, get my college degree and hands on training. And even though there’s a war going in Iraq, the Navy is on water, not on land.” I have been in a dialogue with Carlos about the lies, and misinformation he has been given. I am so glad that he is open to learning the realities. First of all, he learned that even though he signed the DEP- delayed entry program, there is no obligation or penalty to get out. This is one of the biggest lies the military perpetuates. Students can change their minds up until boot camp. He also was surprised to learn that it’s a total of 8 years of his life, and that since 9-11 ten times more- or 10,000 sailors have been assigned to land, the majority guarding military prisons. The military enlistment contract is written in such a way that the individual has NO rights, with section 9B stating that your status, pay, location and length of service can be changed without even your knowledge. In other words, Carlos would become military property. I told Carlos that the travel he will probably see is Iraq, not once but multiple times. The money for college, well, 57% never get a penny because of the strings attached and necessary requirements. And the career training he is likely to receive is to be desensitized in order to kill., even civilians and children. The two paths before Carlos couldn’t be more divergent, and in this case, he won’t have a second chance. We want all the Carlos’ out there to do the research, find out the facts, believe in yourself and don’t settle for what may appear easiest. Don’t believe the military recruiters, who are paid to deceive, create illusions and entice you. CAMS has been able to intervene and support Carlos to make the choice for a hopeful life. Over the past year, our message has exposed the military exploitation of our youth and is based in truth and concern for our youth. It has been our privilege and joy to express our concern for students like Carlos, many who are disillusioned by the options, face pressures and economic disadvantages. Many students have not only made informed choices about their futures, but they are taking a stand- protesting military recruiters on campus, informing their peers about the issues and standing for truth. Together we are the movement and we are making a difference. <><><><><> Coming Home Coming home after being deployed in a war, seems like a dream come true. Take Jeanne “Linda” Michel, a Navy medic who came home in October to her husband and three kids ages 11, 5 and 4. She was homesick for months and delighted to be back in her suburban home in upstate New York. Linda Michel, age 33, was finishing her five years of duty, and about to be discharged in a few weeks. Her husband, in the Army National Guard said, “She had come through a lot and she had always risen to challenges.” But what her family didn’t see, and what she herself may not have realized, was the enormity of what she faced. Experts state, that for veterans, coming home from war can be harder than being deployed. Like thousands of others returning from Iraq, her mental state was fractured and went untreated. Within two weeks, Linda Michel would become a private casualty of war. She shot and killed herself. Picking up where you left off doesn’t happen for returning vets. And for women, a stronger form of post-traumatic stress disorder is experienced. Seeking treatment, seen by some as a weakness, is even tougher for women who still feel the need to prove themselves to men in military service. The female troops in Iraq experience attacks, mortar fire and critical injuries such as amputation. And women soldiers also are more at risk for sexual assaults, up 40 % in combat zones from last year. Linda Michel wanted to serve and joined the navy in 2001. But she didn’t count on being sent to a military prison due to the shortage of army personnel. No doubt she also did not count on experiencing depression, and not being given the medical treatment she desperately needed. Michel is a casualty of war not even counted among the dead, and her family will not be counted either. Three Children ages 11, 5 and 4 will pay the greatest price, their mother. School Ahoy Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest in the nation has over 700 thousand students and 60 high schools. According to the Wikpedia LAUSD has a reputation for extremely overcrowded schools, poor maintenance, and incompetent administration. Yet it also showcases some of the best and brightest of students and cutting edge programs. When the seven member school board looked far and wide for a new superintendent to lead LAUSD they chose Vice Admiral David L. Brewer III a native of Farmville, VA., who has had a distinguished naval career. He claims that although he has no educational experience, education is in his blood because of his family. He talks about the issues with his wife, a teacher, around the dinner table. On the other hand, he has spent 30 years in the military - including serving as a navy recruiter and a weapons officer, an advisor to the Navy’s top leadership, and, lastly, assuming command of ships and shore facilities around the world. Brewer says, “I am not a reformer I am a transformer. I am going to transform this district into...not a No Child Left Behind Act district. That is a low star. This is a global, global economy. This is a world in which our children have to compete globally. We’re going to shoot for world-class.” And perhaps world class begins with his salary (a 20% raise over Romer) to $300,000, plus a $3,000 monthly housing allowance, and $45,000 expense account). These comments, though hopeful, reflect that he doesn’t have a clue about how negative and misguided the NCLB act is. And besides, talk means nothing. If we look at what actions he has taken we’ll find that he recently re appointed two top district chief of staff, both in the military - one in the navy and the other in the Marine Corps for 30 years. I suppose he and the School Board think that the next best thing to pushing students toward military enlistment is to bring the military into the schools with a top heavy bureaucracy. This is NOT the direction many of us want for our educational system and NOT the way of CAMS. Our mission is to transform our schools away from being militarized, with the focus on making the changes necessary to open up a hopeful, life-affirming future for our young. Though the Admiral may be steering the ship (I mean school), he won’t get far unless he finds himself going in the same direction as the thousands of students, parents, teachers and community of LAUSD. Education Not Militarization. Anchors away, far away from LAUSD. <><><><<><. Holiday Reflections Another holiday season approaches, with a dramatic change in the mood and climate in America. Some Americans are hoping for an end to the war in Iraq, and the various options are being discussed. Yet for those with family and loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, talk means little. What matters is that every day precious lives are ended in war- more young people, civilians, all kinds of people in harms way. Tomorrow is too late. CAMS is engaged in a process of transforming the school culture in Los Angeles and working to inform our students about the realities of war. I am encouraged by the changes made over the past two years in L.A., and generally across the nation. Most noticeably students, parents, teachers and school staff are taking action to try to protect student privacy and parental rights through signing and returning Opt Out forms to their campuses. Many understand the connections between the so called “voluntary” military options in the schools such as
Students are dropping out of JROTC, protesting the ASVAB, and military recruiters are reading the newspaper instead of talking to interested students. Increasing numbers of Teachers and administrators are taking a stronger role in protecting students, and confronting military recruiters who wander around campus and disrupt classrooms. At the same time, a rising voice for alternatives, meaningful options, mentoring and support is needed for changes to come full circle. I remind myself that today we are making a difference. As we approach the holiday season, talk of a military draft has been raised once more. Militarism is not the path we want for our children and students. The militarization of our society and the pursuit of war destroy love, peace, and hope. War will never be the answer. As we celebrate and enjoy the love of family, friends, neighbors, community, may our resolve to take action become stronger today and tomorrow. <><><><><><><><><><> JROTC: Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps A historical first hit the city of San Francisco and the entire country last month. The Board of Education voted to drop and replace the JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp) with an alternative, creative and career driven program. JROTC has been part of the US public school system since 1916 with over 3,500 units nationwide. Known as military science, or a PE elective and therefore a “voluntary class”, it combines a military philosophy along with shooting ranges, uniforms and drills cleverly packaged as Leadership and civic education. The San Francisco School Board resolution states that JROTC violates antidiscrimination policies with regard to LGBT students and adults, has a funding mechanism that creates inequities between high schools in San Francisco, and is an inappropriate extension of the nation’s military into the civilian sphere. They point out that JROTC is a program wholly created and administrated by the United States Dept of Defense, whose documents and memoranda clearly identify JROTC as an important recruiting arm. They state that between 35 to 50% of students who spend 3 or more years in the program end up enlisting. In Los Angeles we also have the research to reveal that the 29 JROTC programs are in the most overcrowded schools in the district with high numbers of working poor families and youth of color. We also are seeing fewer students enrolling in JROTC, a drop of one third or approximately 1,500 students. This past year, the opening of new high schools is only one of the explanations. At Roosevelt HS in East Los Angeles, the numbers went down by over 100 students largely due to their awareness of the true intentions of the program.. Banning HS in South L.A. has students signing a petition to keep the JROTC out, and South Gate HS is on probation with too few students. In addition, efforts to stop the involuntary enrollment of students into JROTC may have had an effect along with the general counter recruitment and anti war education in our schools. All of the above are positive developments to redirect our schools towards education not militarization. Let’s bring back those arts, music, physical education, academic, human relations and technical alternatives. Let’s provide students with a greater sense of purpose and respect for themselves and humankind. <><><><><><><><><> Our Election and NCLB Now that progressives have voted in the Democratic majority in the House and Senate there are a whole host of issues which need immediate address, and already the forces are pressuring the Democratic leadership to go one way or another on issues from climate change to Iraq to war profiteering. For youth and for people working in the educational fields one of the major issues on the horizon will be the 2007 reauthorization of the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) also known as 'No Child Left Behind'. It will be contentious, there is a lot of money in test taking and school privatization. In fact, President Bush mentioned NCLB quite a few times in his post-election speech when he announced Rumsfield was dropping out of the Pentagon (or was he expelled?). NCLB, like much of the Bush neoconservative agenda for privatization and Constitutional destruction, has been very harmful to public schools and to youth. Additionally NCLB has made the presence of military recruiters on public school campuses more common than college recruiters, nurses, or music and art teachers. Section 9528 of ESEA states that our children's names are funneled into the Pentagon harvesting machine by the millions, with the right to phone, harass, and lie to youth about military enlistment. While it is stipulated in Section 9528 that students can try to protect their privacy, we all know that the military has ignored or found ways around that OptOut provision. The pressure on youth to join the military rests on other factors as well, such as high tuition costs and limited enrollments at colleges and universities, the lack of jobs in inner-city communities, and a blurring of the line between the notion of protecting America and the reality of protecting oil companies interests that has led to a de facto poverty draft today. We need to start alerting our legislators that our youth are not sacrificable! We need to start organizing now to instruct our democratically elected Congresspeople and Senators to reevaluate 'No Child Left Behind' and to amend the ESEA removing Section 9528. This is our country and these are our schools. The oil companies should not be allowed to farm our students and send American youth to war for their own greed and profit and avarice. We need to guarantee our youth have more in the future than PTSD and DU poisoning. We need to get the recruiters out of our high schools. Tell your legislators "I voted for you, now I want you to erase Section 9528 from the ESEA 'No Child Left Behind'!" when they get into office. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><> WHAT’S SCARIER THAN HALLOWEEN? Were you spooked on Halloween? If you went to one of the events around the country recognized as the scariest in Southern California such as the Queen Mary Shipwreck in Long Beach with it’s Haunted Hall of Horrors , decks of the dead and ghoulish House of Hallucinations, you surely got a scare. But there’s something scarier than Halloween, yet to be recognized by ordinary Americans, much less youth, and it’s called DU. DU or depleted uranium should scare you and me. It should scare us, because like Agent Orange that was hidden from troops in Vietnam is now being known to have contaminated over 425,000 troops according to the Veterans Administration. Today, the Pentagon is again trying to hide the truth from those fighting and dying in Iraq. Depleted Uranium is weapons-grade nuclear waste that causes Gulf War syndrome, and is highly radioactive. It is a heavy metal that thinly coats most of the weapons used in the military from machine guns to bunker busters to cluster bombs to land and sea launched missiles. It contaminates our soldiers when weapons are fired, and as the DU vaporizes into smoke and ash, it enters soldiers eyes, nose, mouth or cracks in the skin. This microscopically invisible, tasteless and odorless particle will last billions of years in the soil, and enter the genes of a soldier’s next son or daughter causing deformities and gross abnormalities. It will be in the air, entering the lungs of the children and people in Iraq as well as American soldiers equivalent to a dental xray without protection EVERY HOUR on the hour for the rest of their lives. Major Commander Doug Roche who did a field study on DU in 1991, when he was placed in charge to clean up Kuwait, &nbs | ||||||||