Oberlin Coalition Against War held its first meeting of the semester on Thursday, producing the largest turnout OCAW has attracted since its creation. The coalition has big plans for organizing, fund-raising and creating an influential presence this spring.
The United Forum for Peace is sponsoring a global day of protest Feb. 15 projected to be the largest of any anti-war-with-Iraq protests that have occurred yet. Within the United States, New York City will be the site of the largest of these at which OCAW hopes to be a powerful voice.
“We want to get as many people to go as possible,” OCAW spokesperson Vanessa Fatton said.
Students present at Thursday’s meeting projected that possibly hundreds of Obies will be in attendance, as well as a number of professors and even President Nancy Dye.
OCAW is also organizing on-campus events for Feb. 15 also, including a possible demonstration and hosting a table at the Indigo Girls concert being held in Finney Chapel that evening.
On Saturday, OCAW plans to send students to an emergency anti-war conference at Cleveland State University hosted by the Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition. At this event, keynote speakers will address a regional audience and focus on issues such as the environmental consequences of the war, the effect it will have on different parts of the community and hold workshops on how to effectively build opposition to the war.
Although OCAW was on somewhat of a hiatus during Winter Term, many of its members continued to further its cause. As part of a national day of action during the month of January, a number of Oberlin students attended protests held throughout the country, the largest of which occurred in Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
“There was a really great spirit and atmosphere present,” one student said.
“The protest got excellent press coverage,” said another. “I was working on Capital Hill at the time and people were actually talking about it.”
The throng of three to four hundred thousand that congregated there marched from the Capital Building to the navy yard to symbolically represent a weapons inspection.
Senior Student Senator Jesse Kanson-Benanav was present at the D.C. protest.
“It was the most diverse protest I have ever been to,” Kanson-Benanav said. He stated that people of all age groups and races were present in the mass that had gathered. The protest was covered widely by the media, including CNN and C-Span, which, according to Kanson-Benanav, is a rare occurrence. “It was really energizing and made me excited about where this movement is going,” he stated.
Other OCAW plans this semester include the creation of several different committees within the Coalition to see to the issues of fund-raising and better financing for their endeavors, and the organization of transportation and housing at future protests, demonstrations and regional anti-war conferences.
OCAW meets each week in Wilder on Thursday night at seven.