URGENT CALL FOR SUPPORT ----- Students organizing a rally against the military presence on RIT's campus and a protest at RIT to oppose the dedication of the 'Louise M. Slaughter' building (which we have dubbed "The Slaughter House") have been met with increasing intimidation, harassment, and threats. We need your support on Friday! ----- Background: ----- The Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS; building 78) at the Rochester Institute of Technology has been promised $8 million dollars to research naval defense for the United States Defense Department. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter from New York's 28th Congressional District is credited for securing the money for RIT. She is also credited with securing a total of $11.25 million in federal funds to help build the facility. For this reason, RIT has decided to rename the CIMS Building the 'Louise M. Slaughter Building' on Friday, April 6th. The research projects that RIT students will be working on will help remanufacture U.S. Navy ships. This research will directly contribute to the killing and murdering of men, women, and children throughout the world. The United States military affects many lives. Whether it be discriminating against gays and women, the continuous bombing of Iraq, the destruction of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, or its intervention in Colombia... All of these events are made possible by the United States military. We must put party lines aside and unite in this common cause that affects all of us. RIT, as an institute of higher education should take the moral and ethical position of peace and not that of war. To us, the CIMS building will not be known as the 'Louise M. Slaughter Building' but rather 'The Slaughter House'. The reprehensible actions of RIT and the increasing militarization of our school must not go unnoticed, for our silence is our acquiescence. In the spirit of the student movement that exposed the ties between RIT and the Central Intelligence Agency, we must make a clear stand that we will not let RIT make deals with the military in our name. We cannot let this 'military expansion' continue on our campus. ---- What's happening now: ----- Our relentless efforts to publicize a conference on the military and a rally the following day have been squelched at every level. Signs advertising the events are torn down daily, but we have done our best to keep on replacing them. An Institute employee phoned one of our activists, trying to get more information on our planned rally -- and when more information about the rally was not disclosed, and we declined an offer to register the event with the Institute, we were informed that a Campus Safety (security) administrator had "expressed an interest" in going to our conference, apparently as a representative of RIT. To most of us, the role of campus safety at this event was obvious: surveillance. Most felt he was just going to be there to gather information about the rally the next day (who's involved, where it is, what's going on, etc.) We felt intimidated. As such, we requested a written explanation of why Campus Safety felt that they should attend. We noted that the presence of Campus Safety at our conference might impede free discussion, and that if there was to be a representative, that we would rather have a professor speak, as it is an academic institution. We were sent a reply stating that they did not feel the need to explain why they were there since we advertised the conference as a public event -- never mind that we specifically asked for an explanation. The latest outrage came several hours ago, in the wee morning hours of Thursday. Over an hour of work -- flyering for our events and chalking a schedule of the upcoming conference in front of the Student Alumni Union (SAU) -- was destroyed just an hour or so after we were finished; somewhere around 2:00 AM. Flyers advertising discussions about the continuing economic sanctions on the people of Iraq and the issue of gays in the military were removed, along with many other signs. Our chalkings were mysteriously removed -- washed away by snow that someone must have somehow carried (shoveled?) to the locations we had chalked. There is an ongoing campaign against us -- one that is infringing on our right to free expression in an alarmingly organized fashion. We are organizing a rally against the entrenched military presence on our campus, one that is perhaps just the first step in an emerging student movement. RIT and its industrial friends would prefer that we did not criticize their source of income and the defense research that goes on at our school. They would prefer that we did not protest the rededication of the CIMS building, and did not call it "The Slaughter House." And the Institute is also no doubt concerned about our rally because there also happens to be an open house for prospective students and their families going on that same day. Most of us fear some sort of reprisal (possibly disciplinary action) from RIT. They might try to shut us down, move us, or silence us. We could use all the support we can get in standing against the military and resisting efforts by RIT to silence us. Our conference on the military is on Thursday, April 5th (today!) and our rally is on Friday, April 6th (tomorrow!). The dedication of the Slaughter building is at 1:00 PM that day (Friday)! Please come out and show your support! ----- Schedule of events: ----- MILITARY CONFERENCE Date: Thursday, April 5th (The conference is broken up into discussions on different issues.) Time: 2:00 - 2:30 Introduction SAU, Clark C 2:30 - 3:30 Colombia SAU, Clark C 3:30 - 4:00 Iraq SAU, Clark C 4:30 - 5:00 ---- BREAK ---- 5:00 - 6:00 Discrimination SAU, Alumni Room 6:00 - 6:30 Closing Statements SAU, Alumni Room RALLY! Date: Friday, April 6th Time: Noon Place: SAU Please e-mail us at NoSlaughter at hotmail.com </ym/Compose?To=NoSlaughter at hotmail.com&YY=60393&order=down&sort=date&pos=0> with any questions. Let us know if you plan to attend because we'd like to have an idea of how many people are coming. (The more, the better!) In Struggle, The No Slaughter Activists
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