At their weekly meeting in Wilder on Tuesday, members of the Oberlin Coalition Against War (OCAW) discussed the progress that they have made so far, and what next steps to take, in their crusade against US military intervention in Iraq.
OCAW has been busy lately. “Currently we’re setting up the [regional anti-war student conference], and we’re in contact with colleges all over the state and surrounding states,” junior Vanessa Fatton said.
Here at the College, OCAW convinced the Student Senate to officially go on record as opposing the war. The senate also approved the circulation of a referendum on students’ opinion of the war.
“I think we’ll get [the referendum] passed, but even if we don’t get it passed it will be a great tool for us to get discussion going,” Fatton said.
At the meeting on Tuesday, members decided to form four subcommittees: one for educating Oberlin students about the war, a second publicizing OCAW activities, a third for internal group discussions about the issues and a fourth for fundraising.
In the coming weeks, members plan to spread their message in a number of ways. On Saturday, members will participate in an anti-war demonstration in Cleveland.
Next, OCAW will participate in a “National Day of Action Against the War” on Wednesday, Nov. 20, with activities including an open mic in Wilder.
Then on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8, the group will take part in the anti-war conference it is currently planning.
OCAW’s next weekly meeting will be held on Tuesday Oct. 19 at 7:30 p.m., in Wilder 110.