Meeting Notes | 9.26.01
Location: Hellems 199
Facilitating: Susan Ruether

Agenda:

1. Quick announcements
2. Get to know you exercise: How do you feel about socks?
3. Catch up with the web site and publication
4. Collective update on last week's events, actions, and protests
5. Theorizing our campaign: facilitated by Eric.
6. Summarizing action items
7. Wrap-up (other notices, etc.)

Quick announcements

• To subscribe to the e-mail list, go to www.geocities.com/coalitiontowagepeace/ to sign up.
• To post an e-mail to the group (using restraint of course), address the e-mail to the following: [email protected]

Get to know you exercise: How do you feel about socks?

• Meet as many new people as you can. Do you wear matching socks?

Catch up with the web site and publication

• Web site: Colin worked on the original site, and Rochelle did some of her nerd design work. Rochelle will update the new site into the geocities URL (yur lookin at it) They asked the group to go to the web site, and give feedback or suggestions (some creative contributions). E-mail rochelle or colin.
• Publication/Flyer: This group needs more help, ideas, creative contributions. Contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Collective update on last week's events, actions, and protests

• The CNN event spawned a "street" campaign, when members of this coalition took signs out to Broadway and urged drivers to "Honk for Peace." Everyone there agreed, IT ROCKED. Likewise, the Colorado Daily did a piece on our presence at this event.
• Unity March was cool, but not enough people were there, and the media definitely showed up in equal numbers, just something to think about
• The poetry reading on the steps of Norlin, which reclaimed that space as anti-hate and anti-violence was very powerful. After some bureaucratic maneuvering, our doves were used as peaceful decorations.

Theorizing our campaign: facilitated by Eric

• Break into small groups and formulate our goals:
• LONG TERM GOALS
  • UCSU Petition/Resolution
  • Regents, No money from defense sourcess.(sweet)
  • "Two directional" approach, reaction v. education
  • Elections, support peace candidates
  • Coalition with State Colleges/Universities
  • Visible symbol
  • University support of our resolution
  • Mark Udall supporting Department of Peace
• Tactics
  • Loggia table
  • Find and expressing alternatives to war
  • Build our numbers
  • T-shirts
  • Polls and education
  • March
  • Arts and cultural events
  • Pre-planning our reactions and strategy to elements of "america's new war"
  • Solidify other group support
  • 1190 plays the Clear Channel banned songs
  • Network with other similar-like-minded-peoples in this state
  • http://www.diyrevolution.com check it out and possibly link up with them
• Using Political Spectrum of Opinions
  A political/movement tactic that has worked well in the past, is understanding the spectrum of opinions on an issue. Then strategically find a majority that can be moved a notch (three inches) over toward your cause. Thus, it's strategic to keep in mind a moderate approach when swaying a person's opinion. This will leave the opposition (the right, the evil, whatever you'd like to classify them) with pulling the minority leftover into it's camp. If we can pull the neutral folks (the moderates, or in some cases the apathetic), then we got numbers baby.
• Energy Break
  If you're happy and you know it: clap your hands, stomp your feet, say go for peace!
• Making a Message
  A theory to making an effective message is to take an issue, acknowledge it's myth, reveal the truth, and use a common belief (American ideal perhaps) to assert your message. For example:
  
  Jim Crow laws
  Myth: they are happy
  Secrets Revealed: no they are not
  Beliefs: people should not be controlled based on who they are
  
  Nuclear power
  Myth: nuclear energy is great and productive
  Secretes revealed: dangerous, expensive clean-up, unsafe
  Beliefs: idea that energy should be inexpensive, safe, and clean
  
  Homosexuality
  Myth: bad, dangerous to society, psychological disorder
  Secrets revealed: they are everywhere, safe, and not a psychological disorder
  Beliefs: all human beings deserve same rights
  
• Break into small groups and re-evaluate goals
• Final action is to keep thinking about these goals for next week.

Summary of Action Items

• Loggia Table: Sign-up sheet passed around. Keep your commitment! The table reserved in the UMC will say SHOC on it, or perhaps Coalition to Wage Peace. Materials for the table can be found in the SHOC office, UMC 187. If you are interested in getting a keycard for the SHOC office to get the materials (in cases of opening), talk to Eric Loftman. To pick up the mission statement sheets, go to the WRC UMC 412.
• Think of our long-term goal.
• Talk to people, speak your mind!
• Wear your buttons! Oh yeah--- go make buttons too. The button maker is in the SHOC office (UMC 187).
• Chalk the web site URL in your classrooms, and explain yourself and the coalition if you can.
• Go to the Denver rally this Saturday, 10 a.m., beginning at the MLK statue. To carpool, meet at the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center on Saturday at 8:45 a.m.

Wrap-up and extra notes