Posted on 09/20/2005 6:23:12 PM PDT by ForOurFuture
Cindy Sheehan, a fallen soldier’s mother whose pursuit of a meeting with President Bush made her a national anti-war figure this summer, will speak at the university Sept. 27 — a stop in her journey to attempt to talk with Bush.
Sheehan drew national attention when she camped outside Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas for weeks, demanding to meet with him and discuss why his administration is still engaged in what she calls an “unjust” war in Iraq.
Sheehan, along with university professor Shibley Telhami and antiwar activist Kevin Zeese, will speak at 8 p.m. next Tuesday at the Memorial Chapel. The panelists will talk about the personal and financial impact of the war for about an hour and then field questions from the audience.
“This talk is to break the silence that’s surrounding us and provide a real opportunity to provoke discussion and debate,” said Ted Howard, director of the Democracy Collaborative, a university-sponsored consortium that helped organize the event. “Most students probably have some connection to the war. What Cindy offers is a very personal story. ”
Sheehan’s story of losing her son in the war inspired many supporters to join her in Crawford at “Camp Casey,” named after Sheehan’s son, who was killed in Baghdad in April 2004. Her stance against the war, however, also brought many Bush supporters to Crawford. Bush declined repeated requests for a meeting because he doesn’t support her campaign to bring the troops home. Sheehan’s campaign ended Aug. 31 when she began her trip toward Washington, where she will participate in next weekend’s large-scale anti-war protest held by United for Peace and Justice. Sheehan has been traveling to different cities, including Buffalo and Philadelphia, speaking about her story and why she thinks Bush should pull out the troops in Iraq. She comes to the university as a favor to Zeese.
Some students say her visit will reignite campus debate over the war in Iraq.
“I hope that students appreciate the different perspectives on the war and hear the voice of someone who’s been touched by it so personally,” said Melanie Share, publicity director for the College Democrats and a sophomore government and politics major. “I think we all agree, Republicans and Democrats, that something needs to be done.”
However, some students said they don’t plan on attending the event because their views conflict with Sheehan’s.
“I just think it’s more of a personal matter,” said Amber Kuh, a junior animal and avian science major who is a member of the College Republicans. “I’m not going to support her cause. I think students should consider all sides of the debate, and I don’t know if it’s going to be balanced.”
Howard, an event organizer, said students should go to Sheehan’s talk regardless of their political views. This talk, he hopes, will educate students and inspire critical thinking about the war.
Sheehan PING!
Please let this goofball come to my town. I could use a laugh.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! She's got those tears on cue. How many times will she cry..and on what words? "Money"...."Bush"...."War"..."Iraq"..."Occupation"..."Zionists"
Well, she'll be close enough to Takoma Park to go meet with foreign leaders.
You game?
Make that two. They know better than to call me for donations.
bttt
They don't call much anymore.
That's a great story.
Every time they called me, and it was always some poor kid making like $6 an hour, I would always tell them that if the university really needed money, they should just do what they did when I was a student there, namely, hike the tuition up every semester.
Ditto!
Will Charles Rangel be there with Cindy, to talk about his bill to bring back the draft?
Thanks for posting this. I like to keep tabs on Cindy's whereabouts.
Undoubtedly crying all the way to the bank
If memory serves me correctly, the following is true.
The chapel occupies the high ground and would be a good spot for a moab.
To park, you go south on route 1 and go past the main entrance and then make the first right. There will be two gated lots with the gates open after 4 pm and these lots should be free parking. Bear to the left lot and the back of the lot should be across the street from the chapel.
perhaps a dc chapter ping is in order
for our future, can you confirm the above ?
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