how to mobilize your campus 1. write a resolution for student government: quote from mainstream news sources only - good info is out there (steal liberally from AR 10). also, thicken it with citations from the link ‘quotes from unlikely folks.’ the more facts, the better. avoid any speculative statements, as they are easily deniable – facts are not. anti-war student govt kids throughout the nation are more than willing to share resources. although strangers, we depend on one another. our web is what helps stops wars. send a copy to pro-war people on campus that are well respected. for me, they told me what my weakest arguments were, and in response, i beefed these areas up. it also made it easier to predict arguments during the debate. and granted, now the pro-war camp will know your case, but the truth is the facts speak for themselves; we only need to be effective communicators. seek out as many co-sponsors as possible. write a *personal* e-mail to all reps that you think might be interested and just ask. no harm if they say no or ignore you. if anything, it shows your passion and willingness to incorporate others into the issue. many reps don’t do anything all year long and are just waiting for the opportunity to be a part of something. try them. 2. mobilize campus support: write an e-mail to the head of every campus group that may oppose war. i’d suggest the following: keep it brief and informative, announce when the bill will be voted upon, encourage students to voice their support at the meeting, include a link to a copy of the bill's text and add an easy-to-cut&paste copy of all the representatives e-mails. suggest that they flood their reps e-mails with support for the resolution. be sure to include your own e-mail in the rep list. this way you can monitor what the students are saying, to whom, and how frequently. make personal responses to each person that writes you. thank them, stress how important it was that they wrote their reps, and reiterate your hope to see them at the meeting. at ut, roughly 75-100 students wrote letters to their reps. this really won over many fence-sitters. those reps who weren’t actually infatuated with their ego often conceded to the will of their more vocal constituents. 3. infiltrate media sources: comics: i drew comics in our school paper advertising AR 10s arrival and included credible quotes to support my case. if you cannot draw (not that I can, either), try contacting your school’s cartoonists and see if they might be interested. artist-types often seem to be leftward leaning politically. radio: generally, college music hipsters are pretty progressive and have access to the ever invaluable air waves. i made a poster and sneakily taped it in the DJ booth. at night, while studying or whatever, i'd call the station during each new dj shift, encouraging them to announce the poster taped in the booth. remarkably, every dj did. news outlets: send out press releases to local newspapers and tv news stations (use our link). also, request to meet with the editor of your school paper to learn their stance on war. intelligently explain your own. we received the endorsement of our school paper, and that made a huge difference. letters to the editor: try to ensure that your anti-war troops consistently write letters to the editor to keep the topic hot. develop pseudonyms and submit multiple letters via hotmail accounts, which are free to set up (www.hotmail.com). depending on your inclination toward mischief, you may wish to write pseudonymed letters from the pro-war side, also. i’d only recommend doing this when the war issue is no longer hot, as a means to reignite the battle. 4. court your fellow representatives: e-mail each rep *individually* : mention that you would really like to meet, in the case that they wish to discuss your bill. tell them you’d be glad to clarify any concerns or questions they have. predict reps’ concerns: for example, i reviewed my economic argument before talking to the business reps. cite reputable sources as frequently as possible. in general, i tried to be politely didactic. 5. get the word out: print up copies of the resolution to distribute in classes, at events, etc. on that sheet, include a list of reps contact info and when the measure will be voted upon. if your sheet doesn’t carry an anti-war slant, you might be able to use your student govt’s copy machine, since you are only spreading news of a resolution. provide numerous copies for your anti-war groups to disseminate, as they should have a vested interest in the legislation. give a bunch to your co-sponsors to pass out, as well. one morning, several of my co-sponsors and I wore our student govt shirts and propagated 200+ copies in less than an hour. if it’s the buzz in your school paper, people will definitely want a copy. and even if these people support war, you just effectively handed them a fact laden sheet explaining our side. whereas they might normally avoid a radical flyer against war, they will gladly take a “professional” student govt resolution, even though it most likely presents nearly identical material. keep your eye open for worthwhile events to table at. we were lucky enough to have noam chomsky come speak near the time of AR 10. i e-mailed him a copy of AR 10 prior to his visit, which he said was “a good resolution.” then i let every local chomsky-ite know he said that. i tabled at his speech and mentioned AR 10 during the question and answer period (at his suggestion). you don’t need chomsky to get the word out, though. attend anti-war group’s meetings. table at progressive events. make a circuit of co-ops. emphasize that you need their help to get the word out. 6. recognize success: regardless of the results of your resolution, getting your campus to become engaged in discussion about war is an enormous success. realize that complacency is enemy #1. the way an assembly of individuals vote on a resolution is ultimately arbitrary – it represents how these individuals feel, not the whole campus. but by merely instigating students to think about issues that truly matter – such as a brutal, expensive, dangerous, frightening war with Iraq - is an outstanding accomplishment. 7. you rule!!!: contact me with any questions, comments, anything. much love & best wishes, jordan@mail.utexas.edu