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It's
all about the activism |
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June–
Wow! Summer is here, and this Holler is chock full of activist news.
We begin with a report from the field -- a STAND member’s passionate report
of a letter writing campaign in which she participates.
From there, we move on to two important action alerts we’d
like you to take action on. Literally, it
takes a total of 10 MINUTES or LESS to take action. Read
the information provided, click on the links which
set up an e-mail to your specific Congresspeople,
and send an e-mail. Then have some chocolate to reward
yourself for your good activism behavior!
Also don’t forget to check out our fresh new announcements! Happy Action-ing.
- Autumn Colbert’s Article – "Let
Us Follow Peace"
- Leave
my child alone: Take action against military recruitment
- No
new nukes: take action against nuclear bunker buster
- Internship
opportunities
- Announcements
1)
Let
Us Follow Peace: A Social Worker’s Plea
By: Autumn Jennifer Colbert
Morgan State
University Senior
06/02/2005
As an Undergraduate Social Work Student at Morgan State University,
I have been trained to advocate for the disenfranchised,
and to speak out for the unheard. This has become
the basic truth by which I live. This way of thinking
and innate sense of direction leads me and it guides
the work that I do each day. The Baltimore Chapter
of STAND has incorporated that clause within their
mission statement. We seek to advocate and speak out
for those whose voices are left unnoticed.
Our Baltimore chapter of STAND consists
of two social work students, among other students
with different focuses, and a Baltimore WAND supporter,
who also is a social worker and a Delegate, here in
Maryland.
One student has already received their Bachelor of
Science degree in the field, from Bowie
State University and I will be receiving my
undergraduate degree in May of 2006 in Social Work.
The unique component of the members who are social workers
is that we all have a strong policy focus. This means
that we seek to infer that all social work is political
and we hope to strengthen the numbers of women who
are in office. As social workers we understand that
policy always affects us and policy affects the way
that we serve. The fact that our organization is
so rich with women, within social policy, who seek
to make a difference, makes me very happy.
We,
the students of the Baltimore STAND Chapter, are new
to the processes of political action, so we have been
given a plethora of information that has aided in
our learning of the political and social arenas.
With this in mind, I encourage other STAND members,
even on an individual basis, to identify issues of
injustice and to advocate for change, which is the
basis of any social workers "life's work."
Our vision of good social work practice and STAND
practice is to infer that we can make a difference
and we MUST.
As we move forward with our efforts of advocacy, let
us always seek to focus on peace. Peace must be our
focus and our concentration. I, personally, have
found that by following certain protocol, such as
writing letters to congress, lobbying, and organizing
etc., mountains can be moved. With the help of certain
WAND outreach staff and directors partnering with
the knowledge that I am receiving from dynamic professors
of Social Work at Morgan State University,
I am learning how to strengthen my avenues of communication,
widen my knowledge base, and hone in on my innate
potential. For this I am grateful.
More recently an issue has presented itself in the
news that has caused much civil unrest. A young African
American Man from Maryland, the Anne Arundel
County area particularly,
was beaten to death by at least five other young Caucasian
men, none of which have been charged with murder.
This has bothered many and saddened many at the same
time. Though some have been accused, no one has been
convicted for this crime. Myself
and other social workers have written letters to our
congresswoman and are still waiting for some follow
up from this issue. Though discouraged by some of
the factors surrounding the case, for instance, the
jury that lacked diversity & the lack of public
concern & justice, we have sought to continue
in the fight to bring about a rightful act in the
center of this injustice.
So
I rally you STAND members to do as some of us here
in Maryland
are doing. We are raising our hands and hearts and
voicing our concerns peaceably, while we seek to find
our response from those who can aid us in our fight. With
this I leave you with the word PEACE. Let us follow
it, Let us live by it, Let us move the hearts of men
with it. Let us follow peace.
2.
Leave
my child alone! STAND women: take action!!
 |
Leave
My Child Alone!
A Family Privacy Campaign to Protect Our High
School Students From Unwanted Military Recruiting:
We
are working with other groups to raise
awareness about a provision hidden in
the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB). |
IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW - NOW YOU KNOW:
Buried deep within the No Child Left
Behind Act is a provision
that requires public high schools to hand over private
student information to military recruiters. The purpose
of this invasion of family privacy is to allow minor
students to be recruited at home by telephone calls,
mail and personal visits.
If a school district does not comply,
it risks losing vital federal education funds. The only way to keep your contact
information from military recruiters is to submit
an opt-out letter in writing to your school districts
superintendent. OPT
OUT
This provision -- known as section 9528 -- was inserted
with almost no debate by Rep. David Vitter of Louisiana,
who learned from the Pentagon that many public schools
had strict privacy policies protecting student information
from being released to any outside parties, thus preventing
aggressive military recruiting.
The
Leave My Child Alone! Is a National Campaign
designed to raise public awareness about section
9528 of NCLB and encourage school districts to adopt
"opt out" best practices.
Ways to STAND
and TAKE ACTION
There
are so many decisions you need to worry about right
now -- like what college to go to, what career you
want to pursue. The last thing you want to worry about
is some recruiter pressuring you to join the military
as if this was your only choice in a time of war!
Also it’s about personal privacy, and with this provision,
the recruiters automatically have your information
instead of you opting to give your info to them. Know
that there are many ways to STAND and TAKE ACTION to put the brakes on this harassment!
Get the WORD OUT!
Write a letter to the Editor of your local Newspaper, school
Newsletter. Let them know how you feel and about your
experience as a young leader with Military Recruiters.
HEADS UP! on some Organizations that are putting in some MAJOR work:
The National Network Opposing Militarization of Youth (NNOMY) – is integral
in bringing our groups together so we can help the
nation understand that providing youth with peaceful
and viable alternatives to achieve success in life
is an important sign of a civilized society.
www.youthandthemilitary.org
POINT OF CLARITY- is an online registry, educational and
informational resources, and organizing tool for Conscientious
Objectors and their families and friends. www.pointofclarity.org
What YOU Can Do!
- If
you are a high school student who is 18 years or
older, request that your name not be included if
student directory information is to be released
to the military. This is your right under the Family Educational Rights & Privacy
Act (FERPA).
- If you are
a high school student under 18, talk with your parents
about the "opting out," so your name and information may be taken off the military
recruiters' contact list. If you click on this
link, OPT
OUT, it is a simple way to remove your contact info from their list.
- Learn about
your free speech rights at school. Exercise your
right to put up posters and distribute literature
with alternative views on war, JROTC, and military
recruiting.
- Create STAND
movements to educate other students about peace
and social justice issues.
- When the military
is going to be present at your school, ask that
community groups with alternative views be invited
to give the other sides of the issue.
ON THE NEWS
Check
out some of these links on other articles and information
on the ways STUDENTS are TAKING ACTION
www.pointofclarity.org
www.pointofclarity.org
www.rockymountainnews.com
Over the summer, local organizers will focus on lobbying local school
board members to adopt "opt out" best practices.
In the fall we will mount a major national push for
parents nationwide for a Back to School "Opt
out" movement.
For more information on how your organization can join the Leave
My Child Alone! Campaign to protect family privacy
and stop unwanted military recruiting of minor children,
contact Becky Bond of Working Assets at 415.369.2107
or Megan Matson of the MMOB at 415.868.8857.
3.
Take action against new nukes!
 |
We
need to keep our commitment: no new nukes.
Act now to prevent funding
the bunker buster in FY06
- How to take action?
click
here.
-
WAND op ed about why the bunker buster just
stinks: click
here.
-
What is the bunker buster? Why oppose it? click
here.
-
Want to spread the word? An action
guide to help you get started: click
here for the document in PDF format. |
The U.S. is researching new, usable nuclear weapons.
The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator
-- or bunker buster -- would be aimed to burrow down
and explode underground bunkers; it would have the
explosive power of up to 70 times that of the bomb
that destroyed Hiroshima.
The Bush administration's five year budget calls for
nearly half a billion dollars for research and early
design stages of the "bunker buster."
This research places the United
States in the awkward and duplicitous
position of trying to convince other countries to
get rid of their nuclear weapons programs, while building
new nuclear weapons of its own. The
U.S. and other nuclear
powers signed a Non-Proliferation Treaty pledging
to disarm in return for other nations not seeking
nuclear weapons. Funding research to develop the bunker
buster would jeopardize the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Take action on the most important vote of the year for WAND--stopping
funding for the nuclear bunker buster. Your
Senator needs to know how you want him/her to vote
on it. Last year we had a big victory in persuading
Congress to eliminate all the money for the bunker
buster. This year, the Bush administration is pushing
again to research the Nuclear Bunker Buster. Despite
the admission that there is strong opposition in Congress
to fund research to bolster the U.S. nuclear arsenal for the
second year in a row, the bunker Buster may receive
a budget for the program. Your ability to take action
today is essential! Please contact your Senator and
ask him/her to oppose the 8.4 million dollar request
to research this bomb.
Click on the following link to send your email now
http://capwiz.com/wand/issues/alert/?alertid=6967696&type=ML
Click on "Buster," the friendly nuclear buster bunker, to view a cartoon
brought to us by 20/20 vision
http://www.markfiore.com/2020/buster20.swf
4.
Internship opportunities
Work
with Emily’s List!
Political-Training
Intern
Start Date:
June 2005
Full-time:
Full-time/Part-time
Principal
Responsibilities
The
Political-Training Intern assists in the development,
planning and execution of EMILY's List Training Programs. The Political-Training Intern
works closely with the Political Programs Assistant
and the Deputy Training Director to help manage EMILY's
List Job Bank and Job Distribution List; assist in
the logistics of planning trainings across the country;
attend job fairs on behalf of EMILY's
List Job Bank; and research current state elected
officials.
WILPF
Click here for
a description of the WILPF-US internships. To apply,
send a resume writing sample, internship goals and
date available with desired internship placement to
Jody Dodd, WILPF National Office, 1213 RaceStreet,
Philadelphia,
PA 19107-1691, or email to jdodd@wilpf.org.
Our
internships are available all year round and we plan
with you what fits best with your schedule. We occasionally
offer a stipends. An office
interview is preferred and one will be set up after
we receive your application. We also do phone interviews.
5.
Announcements
Conference:
Youth ACTION Institute - Advocacy and Communications
Training to Inspire Organizing Nationwide |
June 25-29 in Denver,
Colorado.
The
Youth ACTION Institute is an opportunity for 150
young people ages 16-26 to come together and learn
both from each other and the experts about everything
from working with the media to organizing young
people to taking action to end AIDS. In beautiful
Denver, Colorado, youth will hear speakers talk
about their experiences with living with HIV and
AIDS in the US
and around the world, and will work together to
come up with concrete ways to bring about an end
to the AIDS crisis.
Absolutely everyone (between the ages of 16 and
26) is encouraged to apply, regardless of past experience
working on HIV and AIDS issues.
How To Apply: The
application (www.endaidsnow.org , select Youth Action Initiative under Get Involved) must be received by June 5th, although those received by 10pm EST on June 1st will be given priority.
If you have any questions, please contact Kaytee
(riek@housingworks.org,
202.408.0305 or 1.877.END.AIDS).
Go Run is Here!
Now
Accepting Applications!
Go Run is a weekend long training
dedicated to equipping you, the future candidate,
with the skills to run and win.
The training aims to demystifying
the political process and increase the number of progressive
women in the political pipeline. Go Run provides the
nuts and bolts of running for political office by
focusing on such areas as communications, fundraising,
and campaigning, amongst others. For more on Go Run click here.
Georgia Go Run |
July 22nd - 24th, 2005 | The
Carter Center, Atlanta, GA
WAND
internship opportunity
Women's
Action for New Directions: the mission is to empower
women to act politically to reduce violence and
militarism, and redirect excessive military resources
toward unmet human and environmental needs.
Depending on prior experience and
ability, their duties may include research and analysis,
preparing correspondence, program implementation
as well as attending rallies or meetings. Interns
have direct contact with WAND members and partners.
Supervision Received and Exercised:
Position receives general supervision
from the Directors' Associate or from other management
staff.
Example of Duties:
- Assist staff in the development and implementation
of a central file system.
- Compile data for special projects; collect and assemble
data and background materials for a variety of
reports.
- Coordinate and participate in the preparation and processing
of mailings; ensure that packet is complete including
all reports and related supporting documents.
May include the duplication, collation, and distribution
of packets.
- Attend special events as staff. Some events may occur
outside of normal business hours.
- Provide general office coverage.
- Perform general administrative and clerical work; file,
schedule appointments, process information; order
and maintain supplies as directed.
- Operate a variety of office equipment.
- Perform responsible administrative work involving the
use of independent judgment and personal initiative.
- Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships
with those contacted in the course of work.
- Additional Projects: 2005 WAND
Conference
Skills:
Experience and Training Guidelines:
Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required
knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical
way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would
be:
Course work at an accredited college, university or business school with major
emphasis in business, public administration or a
related field or experience in a public agency,
social service or office environment. Volunteer
or paid work experience may qualify.
To apply, please e-mail, fax, or
mail your cover letter and resume to the following:
- E-mail: asummerville@wand.org - please include
the title of the position you are applying for
in subject or body of e-mail.
- Fax: 404-524-7593
- Mail:
464
Cherokee Ave. SE Atlanta,
GA 30312Communications Marketing Internship
