Uprise Tour at DePaul

Thursday October 26, 2006 featured the Uprise Counter Recruitment Tour making it's stop at DePaul. The tour has been raising awareness about how wrong the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are and attempting to prevent youth from signing up to serve in the military. Featuring Iraq and Afghan Veterans Against the War, Riot Folk performer Ryan Harvey, Hip Hop artist Son of Nun rappers Head-Roc and Noyeek and Tom Morello, the Nightwatchman. Morello was also the guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and is the guitarist for Audioslave.

The concert was a big event, with close to 200 people watching the show and more walking through the student center seeing it. According to one of the members of the tour, this was the biggest show they had on the tour. Students danced and learned about how the military uses dirty tricks to recruit for it's immoral wars.

The Best Albums of the 00’s

With the decade more than half over, this seems like a decent time to assess the music scene. Who will be remembered years from now? Which bands have made an artistic statement that will last? Who is influencing future musicians? Who is changing the world as we know it? Who will be the Nirvana, or John Lennon, or The Clash for this era?
While I’ll admit I have a preference for hard rock and radical politics, these bands and albums are not just run of the mill corporate crap. They are artists who are seeking to challenge your understanding of the world around you, and to make music that that is more than just a commodity. In some ways this list is incomplete as there are scores of great bands out there that I haven’t heard yet, or that are so underground that it would be premature to call them something that would be remembered. This list is in no particular order. We would love to hear from others on whom they think deserve to be on this list and why.

Artist: Dead Prez
Album: Lets Get Free
Website: www.deadprez.com

Sticman and M-1 tear it up in some of the best and most militant politically charged rap since Public Enemy’s height in the early 90’s. Any of their albums are great but this one stands out as it was their major label debut. While they are excellent producers and produce some great beats with real soul, it’s their lyrics, and attitude they say them, that are so powerful they shake you to your core and make you want to raise your fist! So I’ll just let their lyrics speak for them.

African: “’I’m a runaway slave watching the north star; Shackles on my forearm , runnin with the gun in my palm; I’m an African , never was I African-American; Blacker than black I take it back to my origin; Same skin hated by the Klansmen; Big nose and lips, big hips and butts, dancin, what!”

We Want Freedom: “Yeah, yeah; Imagine havin no runnin water to drink; Chemicals contaminate the pipes leadin to your sink; Just think, if the grocery stores close they doors; And they saturate the streets with tanks and start martial law; Would you be ready for civil war? Could you take the life of somebody you know, or have feelings for if necessary? I got cousins in the military But far as I'm concerned they died, when they registered”

Be Healthy: “I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets; only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat; I'm from the old school, my household smell like soul food, bro; curried falafel, barbecued tofu; no fish though, no candy bars, no cigarettes; only ganja and fresh-squeezed juice from oranges; exercising daily to stay healthy; and I rarely drink water out the tap, cause it's filthy; Lentil soup is mental fruit.”

Artist: The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Album: Survival Sickness
Website: www.internationalnoise.com

Survival Sickness was The (International) Noise Conspiracy’s fist major label debut. These Swedish punks were doing Anarchist-Marxist garage rock before the corporate press declared garage rock the new hot thing. This album makes you want to dance and rock out. The single “Smash It Up” is subtly subversive with its mellow call to destroy the capitalist system. Singer Dennis Lyxzen used to sing for the avant-garde hardcore group Refused before they broke up. Refused’s album “The Shape of Punk to Come” is still one of the best albums of the 90’s. Some other great songs by The (International) Noise Conspiracy on other albums include: Black Mask, Abolish Work, A New Morning: Changing Weather and Communist Moon.

Artist: System of a Down
Album: Toxicity
Website: www.systemofadown.com

System of a Down. Slayer meets Frank Zappa, with the politics of Rage Against the Machine. Toxicity took their brand of hyper crazy metal to the masses with an album that features singer Serj Tankian’s soaring voice and Guitarist Daron Malakian’s melodic sludge riffs. The album deals with issues like the war on drugs, opposing corporate globalization, and the environment. SOAD are activists off the stage, Serj founded the activist group “Axis of Justice” with Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. The band has also been active in opposing the war and pushing to have the US recognize Turkey’s genocide of Armenians in WWI. Malakian’s grandmother is a resident in Fallujah a major battle zone in Iraq, so the bands songs against the war have a personal touch in them that few bands can touch.

Artist: Flattbush
Album: Smash the Octopus
Website: www.flattbush.com

Filipino communist heavy metal. I discovered Flattbush in the free bin at the DePaul radio station. It was one of the best things I ever found there. They sing/scream in English, Tagalog, and Kapampangan against US imperialism and the puppet governments in the Philippines that oppress the people there. The album is produced by former Faith No More member Billy Gould. Highlights on the album include “Smash the Octopus”, “Question Authority” (check out the video on their website!), and “GMA is a US-SOB” (referring to President of the Philippines Gloria Maria Arroyo as a US- Son Of a Bitch. GMA recently declared martial law on the islands as evidence that she cheated in the recent elections became public. This has led to massive protests calling for her resignation. Bands like Flattbush, System of a Down and Sepultura have shown how the internationalization of heavy metal fuses with other cultures and creates some of the most original music.

Artist: Lamb of God
Album: As the Palaces Burn
Website: www.lamb-of-god.com

This album hits you like a ton of bricks. From the opening riff of “Ruin” through the anti-war “11th hour” till the multi-pronged “Vigil”, this is heavy metal at its finest. Singer Randy Blythe’s scream sounds as though he is breathing fire and speaking the truth no one wants to hear. The dual guitar attacks of Mark Morton and Willie Adler keep getting more technical and energetic, making you want to thrash around and trash the house of one of Bush’s cabinet members. Drummer Chris Adler is the real standout from this band though, as his drumming does more than just keep a beat, it rips the ground open to let the demons of Hades celebrate their victory over fundamentalist Christians like Jerry Falwell. Lamb of God used to be known as Burn the Priest, a blasphemous name that got them into a bit of trouble. All of their albums are great though, especially their most recent album, Ashes of the Wake. This album is all about opposing the war in Iraq. From songs like “Now you’ve got something to Die For” (directed towards US troops who blindly believe in their government), to the title track, which includes spoken word from an Iraq Veteran Against the War.

Artist: The Dillinger Escape Plan
Album: Any
Website: www.dillingerescapeplan.com

Few others band has changed the face of American hardcore music the way DEP has. Fusing hardcore, jazz and techno they produce music that is at once violent and beautiful. Using insane time signatures, screams, lullabies, and riffs so complicated they would make Yngwie Malmsteen sound like a beginner, this band has forever made its mark on music. From their Calculating Infinity album, to the Irony is a Dead Scene EP with Mike Patton from Mr. Bungle, to their recent Miss. Machine, if there is one word summarize this band it is: Original.

Artists: Riot Folk
Album: All
Website: www.riotfolk.org

“Making Folk a Threat Again” is the motto of this collective of anarchist folk musicians and singers. They take the anti-profit motive of anarchism to a degree few others have, offering all their recordings online for free. Some of my favorites include Ryan Harvey with the songs: The Ballad of the Baltimore Rebellion; Peace, Justice and Anarchy; and Kent State Massacre (13 seconds in May). Another great musician is Anna Roland. We’ve had both perform at DePaul and both are great.

Artist: Kanye West
Album: The College Dropout
Website: www.kanyewest.com
George Bush Don’t Care About Black People: www.boingboing.net/2005/09/08/katrina_kanye_remixe.html

The Chicago hip-hop star who has taken the world by storm. His first staring album (he was a producer before) was a stellar album. Who can ever forget the haunting melody of “Jesus Walks”? More than that, this is the album that skyrocketed West to fame, allowed him to make comments that would shake the musical and political establishments. On one of his interviews on MTV, West told other rappers to stop dissing homosexuals, as there was nothing wrong with being gay. But even bigger were his live comments on a telethon following Hurricane Katrina. While FEMA failed to help people and the police reacted with brutality, arresting people just trying to survive, West went on national television and declared that “President Bush don’t care about Black people.” The best part about West is that he manages to make critiques of the establishment within very catchy songs that are more about people than politics.

Interview with Rob Austin

With so much talk about the war in Iraq, it seems that there is something being forgotten- the troops. While generals make orders and politicians profit, there are ordinary people, like my neighbor, like my friends brother, and like Robert Austin, who must do the fighting. It only makes sense to talk to some of these troops.
While Rob was not sent to combat, he was almost sent to Iraq. Rob is militantly opposed to the war and was so while he was in the army, which is why he applied for conscientious objector status. At a party for Rob, several of his army buddies were there, celebrating with anarchists and anti-war activists. I talked to one of them, and he told me the lengths people go to get out of an army they don’t believe in. This former army man told me how he failed five drug tests on purpose before they kicked him out. He had gotten into radical politics through punk music and wanted out of the army. The army was so desperate to keep soldiers they kept a man who tested positive for heroin, cocaine and other drugs. Eventually he got out, but it goes to show the dissent in the military.
The anti-war movement supports the troops because we know the history of troops opposing the war. From Iraq Veterans Against the War to Vietnam Veterans Against the War, to Russian troops who refused to fight for the Czar leading to the Russian revolution of 1917.

ASU: Tell us a little bit about your military service. When and why did you join?

Rob: I joined the National Guard in April of 2000. I was seventeen, had low self esteem, and I wanted to make a “difference.” I remember high school being very competitive and believing the notion that life is over without college. During high school I was a poor student. I found myself learning about issues not discussed in class. I had no idea what I wanted to do in life. I remember talking to a recruiter who was speaking with my sister. I was sixteen years old and the military seemed more romantic than reality. My father is a Vietnam Vet and would not allow me to join active military service.
Though I understood the reality of conflict more than fellow students, the military seemed like it would instill what was needed for me to get ahead. I remember my sister was getting good grades, and having a family that can’t possibly be able to afford to send my two sisters and I to school I decided to enlist. I was told that the purpose of the National Guard was to help the nation in crisis. I liked the idea of being there to help others in the case of Floods, hurricanes, wild fires, and tornadoes. The last time my unit had been called up was the Korean War. The Guard was an escape for me. It did help me gain confidence in myself, yet the negatives far out way the benefits. I joined and chose to be an 11bravo (infantry) with a $5,000 dollar sign on bonus which I never received.
ASU: You served time at Ft Polk LA. Tell us a little bit about what it was like there, what you did, and what your attitude and the attitude of your fellow soldiers about the war in Iraq.

Rob: I was deployed for a second time to Ft. Polk La to train soldiers to go to Iraq. We were told about the deployment while on annual training (two weeks a year) in Poland. Though the unit forgot to get plane tickets back, we got home and had a week and a half to get family life in order before deploying. Usually on active duty, soldiers live in barracks that are kind of like dorm rooms. We lived in warehouses that fit 116 people, and had Constantia wire around the perimeter. The conditions were more like prison.
Our job was very interesting. We would dress in civilian clothes and go to different towns in a training area called the box. I discussed with soldiers who were going to Iraq. Many had already gone and were being deployed for a second time. I found that many did not want to go, and support seemed to be lacking. I remember talking with a soldier from 2ndacr (armored cavalry) and we told me how they used to carry drop guns (they had ak47s in the back of their humvees and if they killed a noncombatant they would throw the AK 47 on the body, take a picture and report it as a combatant). Soldiers from the 1st Calv informed me that their commander ordered gun runs on protester (gun runs refers to a helicopter strafing the ground while firing heavy automatic weapons).

ASU: Tell us about going conscientious objector. What is it? Did you ever apply for it? Is it a realistic option for military personnel who oppose the War? How likely is it that someone who applies for CO will get it? How would someone apply for CO if they wanted to?

Rob: On January 3rd of 2005 I filed for conscientious objector. I requested to be discharged from the military because my beliefs did not allow me to participate, or train for war. I saw my commitment to the military as a direct violation of my beliefs. As a believer in natural law, and transcendental perspectivism I could not support my involvement in the military in anyway. I question the idea of what is murder? I talked to several soldiers who enlisted to kill and maim. Why were they any different than a hit-man? Objectively they had enlisted in an organization they ordered them to commit these acts whether they agreed or not. Whether wrong or right, against will and desire you are ordered to fight. I believe in direct action and responsibility. Imagine if soldiers decided if they wanted to fight. What a perfect way to end wars that are against public desire. A counter argument is often brought up were others claim that if the country was attacked there has to be an armed force to defend the state. How many people would protect their communities if attacked?
To file for conscientious objector the person has to believe that all war is immoral or killing another. One can not only disagree with one conflict and attempt to be granted with conscientious objector. There are two kinds of CO. 1A (the person holds a belief against killing and your moved to a no combative role but retained in the military), and 1-0-A (your direct role whether combative, or no combative afflicts with your beliefs discharging you from the military). Soldiers are usually discharged under honorable or general discharge. I would recommend CO for several reasons. Close to 50% of those who apply for CO win their case. Check out The G.I rights hotline for more info. CO claims are backed by personal statements, testimonies, a meeting with a Chaplin, psychological examine (because if you’re not participating in war you must be crazy, and a hearing. Many times people are kicked out during the medical exam. I would recommend researching depression, anxiety, and social anxiety. You might be looking and kicked out on the spot.

ASU: You asked me before to give you a chance to talk about food. So tell me about food. What’s a good recipe for something vegetarian or vegan?

Rob:
Indian Tacos/Fry bread & topping
A Native American dish dating from the beginning of the forming of the 'reservations', when the government allotted only staple items to be distributed. Cornmeal, flour, salt, sugar, milk powder. There are about 16 thousand different recipes for Fry bread. Everyone makes their own a little differently, and you can find a bunch of good recipes on the Net. This is just the one I like the best. The topping originally used ground beef or turkey, but I experimented and found you can do just as well without it.
Ingredients for Fry bread:
3 c. flour 3 t. baking powder 1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar 2 c. warm water. 1 t. shortening. (NO BUTTER.)
Mix all dry ingredients, then toss in shortening, mix well. Add in water, stir till dough-like. Then get down and dirty and knead it, add flour if it's too sticky. Beat it, punch it, mix it up, tear it, smush it. This is a GREAT recipe for aggressive days, and I was once told that the more you abuse the dough, the better it tastes. Dust hands with flour, tear off handfuls of dough, roll into ball, press into disc, deep-fry till golden brown. To keep them warm: Put three or four on plates, cover with paper towel or paper plate, put in oven on lowest setting.

James Hammonds Speaks at DePaul

People's History of DePaul

A number of DePaul alumni spanning 20 years returned to DePaul to speak about their experiences. The panel was organized by Matt Muchowski who is working on what he calls, "A People's History of DePaul University." The panel had Muchowski read a few highlights from his unfinished outline, describing DePaul's history of discrimination against students of color, and the various student uprisings against racism, war and capitalism that have occurred throughout the years.

The panelists included Joe Kinsella who spoke on how he participated in numerous actions against the US military (aid to the Contras, CIA recruiters on campus, etc). Kinsella also spoke on how the school banned then-president of the National Organization for Women, Eleanor Smeal, in 1986 because she was pro-choice. A number of students and faculty managed to bring her to campus to speak anyway. Another speaker was Marc Luzietti who described his participation in the large protests against rising tuition in 1990 and against the first gulf war. Luzietti was also one of the students involved in the occupation of the OMSA office which led to the creation of the cultural center. Marc's wife Cecilia Luzietti described how student groups dealt with sexual assault and the alternative student newspaper in the 1990's. Simon Strikeback described the queer kiss-ins that were held on campus inthe late 90's and the anti-sweatshop movement that led to DePaul joining the Workers Rights Consortium. Rebecca Steinmetz also talked about the anti-sweatshop movement and GRRRL House.

Thoughts on Notes From the Underground

Fyodor Dostoyevsky says that to think to much is a disease. I’m a college educated person, trained in how to think. Thinking is like a science or an art to me. Yet, Dostoyevsky has a point. Thinking to much can lead one to not take action on those thoughts. To think to much is to commit yourself to a life in the reverse of the brainless zombie we see in horror movies. Yet despite this reversal, to think to much leads one to act just like those zombies, unable to do anything, wandering aimlessly, seeking only food (whether it be brains or food for thought).

In the activism I’m involved with, I see how thinking to much is a disease almost everyday. People talk about action way to much. There is an overabundance of theory and a serious lack of action. It’s gotten to the point where people call talking about their thoughts an action. If they shout their thoughts in public it’s called a protest.

Meanwhile, the machine acts. It ships arms in our backyards, and rains death upon those who oppose it. The machine has it’s thinkers, it’s Karl Roves, it’s Projects for New American Centuries, but the system also has it’s army of those who do it’s bidding. Mindless drones, pawns in chess who when they receive orders to do so, act without thinking about it.

What do to many people do about this? Instead of fighting the fascists, to many are content to rationalize them, debate them, ignore them or attempt to educate them. Meanwhile our teeth are being kicked in, our faces dragged through mud, and our voices ringing hollow on ears that refuse to listen.

To think to much is to sit on ones ass. It’s like playing video games. You think your playing football, but really your just sitting on your ass and fiddling your fingers. Instead of actually playing football, you are imagining that you are playing football.

Further when one plays video games, like when one thinks, they are limited by what has been created before them. One can not play the video game that has not been created, coded, tested, packaged, shipped and sold. With thinking, one can not imagine a new religion that has nothing to do with the old religion. Even if it’s the reverse, knowledge of that older religion influences the new faith, the new mythology. Many Christian holidays are celebrated the day that Roman holidays were on.

Dostoyevsky goes a step further though. He doesn’t just say that thinking to much is problematic, he actually says that stupidity is praise worthy because stupid people take action. In a sense he’s right, but the question he fails to address, is who’s action do they take. Is it really their own formulation or is it someone who is commanding them to take action? For example, a soldier in the army takes action, but it’s not always in their own interest, and as dissident soldiers, C.O.’s and others have shown, it is often not in their own will.

Dostoyevsky argues that often people enjoy doing that which is actively bad for them. He compares it to a toothache, and how people can derive pleasure from it. So perhaps some people don’t mind being pawns in chess. Perhaps some prefer 2 + 2 = 4, no mater how terrible that trail of death is for them.

What Dostoyevsky doesn’t discuss is how taking to much action can be problematic. To be continually moving, fighting, engaging, is to never reflect on what the effects of that action are or whats behind why you take that action. To not think about that, is to repeat the action. Repeat the action. Repeat the action, until the spark dies out. I feel it is best to create a praxis of theory and practice. Action and thought united in a cycle so that each feeds off the other, both practiced by the same person.

My biggest problem with Dostoyevsky, is that at a certain point, his irrationality becomes very rational. His comparison between “uncivilized” people and supposedly “civilized” warmongers makes perfect sense. That which society deems irrational, might only be different. The person ranting on the corner makes no sense until you hear them out. Listen to them explain their views and why they have them. Then it makes sense. The person who has been taught their whole lives that Christianity is a religion of life, will be flabergasted by the person who tells them that more people have died in Jesus’ name than any other. But if they stop and listen to the stories of inquisitions, wars, and crusades, they will get a different picture.

The other part of Dostoyevsky that becomes rational is the issue of mass acceptance. 2 + 2 = 4 because society declares it so. But if all of society declared that 2 + 2 = 5, wouldn’t the person who insisted that 2 + 2 = 4 seem irrational? In many ways we see this contradiction with the culture of individuality. Everyone wants to be an individual, to stand out, to be different. Yet, they all become the same in this process. What’s so different about being different when everyone is different?

I would say that the life I’ve lived is closer to 2+ 2 =5, in that it has been unorthodox, but I’m trying to create a world where 2 + 2 = 4 isn’t destructive, where the normal way of doing things isn't destructive. In many ways the world we live in today is closer to -2 – 2 = -4. As Dostoyevsky points out that many times people don’t desire what is in their best interests. They don’t want the positive, they want the negative. This is one of the greatest obstacles on the path towards a utopian society. So to take the world out of it’s negative ways, we need to break out of the mold. If the messed up world is -4, a person living a 2 + 2 = 4 life still leaves us in the neutral zone, whereas a person living a 2 + 2 = 5 life would actually give us a positive 1...... and the hope of a new world.

Intellectual Property and DePaul

The other day I was watching a movie at DePaul, about the death penalty. It was great, it raised a bunch of issues about why the Death Penalty should be abolished in the US, and was an educational tool. But some school administrators and the enforcement of a backwards-ass federal law, would make screenings like this one much more difficult at DePaul.

A new rule implemented this year was for the school and student groups to obtain licenses to show movies, licenses often costing $200 or more.

This didn’t sound right to me, so I went to speak with Tiffany Guzarde and Shannon Greybar Milliken in student life about the matter. They told me it was a federal law which they were upholding and that they weren’t necessarily happy enforcing it as it was creating a strain on the already limited Student Allocation Funding Board budget.

I explained to them that DePaul, as an educational institution, should be able to show movies under a fair use clause. I mean, most students groups aren’t screening “You Me and the Dupree”, or boot-leg copies of “Spider-man 3” while its still in theaters. They are showing documentaries, or even when it is fictional, it has an educational value.

But in the eyes of this law and the bureaucrats stuck enforcing it, this is likable to downloading movies online. They are terrified of being fined, but I asked them if DePaul had ever been fined, or threatened with being fined, and they replied, “no.”

This can be problematic in many ways. Many underground films don’t have licenses. For example a movie about the anti-World Bank/IMF protests in Prague called “Crowd Bites Wolf” has no license and no way of contacting the filmmakers to get a statement regarding it’s lake of a license.

This has to be put in the perspective of encroaching “intellectual property” laws against free speech. Consider the movie “Eyes on the Prize.” It’s considered one of the greatest documentaries of all time, documenting civil rights struggles of the 1950’s and 1960’s. One of my professors at DePaul showed it and it was not only educational, but inspirational. It showed how ordinary people were risen up because of their involvement in the struggle for civil rights.

Unfortunately copyright law has hindered “Eyes on the Prize” from being broadcast on TV or issued on DVD, or even shown in public settings like my classroom. Since the documentary used archive footage, it has to pay for the right to use such footage. Imagine having to pay every time you quoted a book in an essay you wrote for class. There was a fear that it might not even be able to be rebroadcast ever again. The filmmakers had to shell out thousands of dollars to obtain temporary rights to the archival footage so they could show the film on PBS recently, but having it issued on DVD might take longer and cost more.

Hip Hop music has been pushing boundaries by sampling recordings, and many great songs have run into restrictions because of that. Consider the absurdity that musician John Fogerty had to deal with. As a member of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival he wrote a song called. “Run Through the Jungle.” He would later leave the band, and start a solo career on another record label. He would be sued by the former record label because his song, “Old Man Down the Road” sounded to much like his song “Run through the Jungle.” In other words he was being sued for sounding to much like himself! Fogerty defeated this suit, but left unchecked, intellectual property rights advocates would leave us all in a situation like this.

Another way intellectual property laws are destroying our freedoms and rights can be seen in the emergence of GMO’s or Genetically Modified Organisms. Corporations like Monsanto are copyrighting and patenting the genetic codes of plants. When they sell these GMO seeds to farmers, they have all sorts of stipulations, to guarantee that farmers are not allowed to save seeds for the next year, and essentially remain in debt to the company. As consumers, we should be worried, because we aren’t allowed to even know what we are eating, as that is a trade secret.

In the digital world we see similar problems. The next step of the record companies and their iTunes buddies in stopping file sharing is to implement Digital Rights Management or DRM. DRM is essentially software that prevents you from making copies of the CD or MP3 you legally bought. So even if you buy a song from iTunes, and want to make a back up copy on your external hard drive, just in case your computer crashes, as they often do, DRM would prevent you.

In 2005, Sony sold millions of CD’s with DRM like software which would automatically installed itself, without alerting consumers, onto their PC. This was bad enough, but it turns out the software actually opened up security holes, making innocent fans of music, victims of computer viruses.

Whats next, every time you utter “lord of the rings” or “the” you get sued? I watched a video on youtube.com called “Chad Vader- day manager.” It was a funny parody, but if these copyright laws were effected fully, it would stifle that kind of parody.

Luckily there are ways people are resisting. Many artists, writers and musicians are releasing their work on Creative Commons licenses which allow the author to profit while giving users the right to copy and use the work in other ways.

To oppose the proprietary Microsoft software many computer programmers have contributed to the GNU/Linux project. In a nut shell, the software is free, anyone can download it, look at the source code and contribute their own code to the programs.

Other activists are battling this through websites like http://downhillbattle.org/ which do a number of creative protests to defend file sharing.

I suggested to Tiffany and Shannon in DePaul student life that the school get involved in resisting these copyright laws. Lobby Congress to repeal these arcane laws which prohibit students from watching documentaries with their friends. DePaul could have a large influence on this issue, and by taking the lead on it, other school would join it.

They said DePaul was to busy lobbying on student loans and other issues. Student Loans are a decent thing to lobby about, reducing the amount of interest students have to pay back would be a positive thing and would allow more students to afford a college education.

But I proposed: why doesn’t DePaul lobby Congress on the war? All the money going to build bombs and privatize Iraq could be used to build schools, here in the US and in Iraq. All the money wasted on Blackwater mercenaries and Halliburton profits could go to documentary makers to allow them to pay for archival footage, or to students who want to pay for movie licenses. Shannon didn’t like that idea.

Honestly the best thing students can do is host screenings of banned movies. Start with “Eyes on the Prize.” Let’s get 500 people together to watch it for free, then have a discussion about it, write about it and bring up examples from it in our classes. If the school or movie lawyers come after us, we have our own lawyers through the electronic frontier foundation, national lawyer’s guild and others who would gladly take the case pro-bono.

Since I started writing this, the issue has become more pertinent. Many DePaul students including Janien Hammonds, daughter of Black Student Union founder James Hammonds, are being sued for downloading music. It's likely a court battle with ensue. Students should support the students in fighting against these corporations. These corporations make billions, and yet they want $2,000 from Hammonds, just for downloading a few songs. Stay tuned to www.depaulasu.net for more on what you can do to defend creative freedom.