The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.62/No.9           March 9, 1998 
 
 
Campus Events And Classes Help Build YS  

BY NICK PELL
This column is written and edited by the Young Socialists (YS), an international organization of young workers, students, and other youth fighting for socialism. For more information about the YS write to: Young Socialists, 1573 N. Milwaukee, P.O. Box #478, Chicago, Ill. 60622. Tel: (773) 772-0551. Compuserve: 105162,605

BOSTON - Young Socialists here took advantage of a week- long break from school to step up campaigning against imperialism and war. We set up tables of revolutionary books on campuses and spoke at area universities.

On February 18, leading up to a large teach-in at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), YS members went up to Bowdoin College in southern Maine. This reporter and Elena Tate spoke at a meeting against U.S. war moves, sponsored by the African-American House. Ten students showed up for a wide-ranging discussion. One student was particularly interested in the Iranian revolution of 1979. Two others bought copies of the Militant.

After the meeting two students met with YS members to discuss future common activity. They plan to bring themselves and others to a rally against U.S. aggression toward Iraq in Boston March 1.

On February 21 the YS participated in an all-day teach-in at MIT opposing U.S. war moves on Iraq. More than 350 students and others from the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, Wellsely, MIT, University of Maine, Harvard, Brandeis, and other campuses participated in the event, which included a plenary session and two rounds of workshops. A panel of six people spoke at the plenary, including Howard Zinn, a retired professor from Boston University and Elena Tate from the Young Socialists.

Several speakers focused on the effects of international sanctions on the people of Iraq. Tate took up the question of sanctions in the context of explaining the role of U.S. imperialism and in defending the sovereignty of Iraq against U.S. war plans.

"We must be clear," Tate explained. "The U.S. government represents ... the interests of the tiny minority of people who own the majority of the world's resources and wealth. They are going to war for oil, for control of the Middle East, and to really show the world who, exactly, is in charge."

The Young Socialists sponsored an open house after the event that youth interested in the communist movement participated in.

The week of activities included setting up YS tables featuring books by revolutionaries and the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial at Boston University, Bowdoin College, and other places. Supporters of the Militant sold a total of 130 single copies of the paper over the course of the week.

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BY CARLOS HERNÁNDEZ

LOS ANGELES - The Young Socialists here has organized two class series for the month of February. One of the classes focuses on the current U.S. war drive against Iraq, using New International no. 7, which features "Opening Guns of World War III." The second one has been organized around Black History Month and has included discussions on the legacy of Malcolm X and Leon Trotsky on Black Nationalism and Self Determination published by Pathfinder Press. In addition, YS members have been active in selling the Militant and campaigning against imperialism and war.

The first class was held on February 18 and will go through March 4. The latest class came one day after an antiwar protest of 250 people in front of the Westwood Federal Building. Nestor Bazúa, a railroad worker who served in the military during the Persian Gulf War, came to the class. An intern from KPFK radio also attended and interviewed everyone after the meeting for a news broadcast on opposition to the war drive against Iraq.

Along with a Militant Labor Forum on Malcolm X, the YS is holding classes on the vanguard role of the Black struggle today. Heather Martin, a Young Socialists member, and Harry Ring, a lifelong communist who interviewed Malcolm X in the 1960s, spoke live on a local radio station, KSPC, for a hour and a half tribute to Malcolm X. This included discussion about opposition to Washington's war drive and how this relates to Malcolm X's internationalist perspective.

Young Socialists have been an integral part in the sales of the Militant in working-class communities, plant gates, antiwar picket lines and events, and to Marines at Camp Pendleton about to be deployed to the Persian Gulf. There have been a variety of responses, many of which indicate the deepening polarization in the working class.

Many of the GI's stationed at Camp Pendleton expressed little enthusiasm about the prospect for war. Some had discussions with YS members about the role of the Cuban revolution today. Two Marines were eager to read president Fidel Castro's welcoming speech to Pope John Paul II during his recent visit to Cuba.

As part of its campaigning, the Young Socialists is also building a student and youth conference in opposition to Washington's war moves at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).  
 
 
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