Press Release
November 7, 2007
Press Contacts: Nick Kreitman, 847-970-0575, chicagosds@gmail.com
Casey B. Renz, 708-214-2836, cbrenz@gmail.com
Chicago, November 7, 2007 -- Chicago Students for a Democratic Society will express their solidarity with expelled Morton West high school anti-war students at a school board meeting beginning at 7PM on Wednesday, November 7, at Morton East High School, located at 2423 S. Austin Ave. in Cicero.
The Morton West students face the threat of expulsion for participating in a peaceful November 1, 2007 high school cafeteria sit-in, organized by the students to coincide with All Saints Day, a holiday honored by Latino families to commemorate the dead. Student leaders had notified school administrators of their intent to stage the sit-in prior to the event.
Many students have appealed their suspensions in meetings with school administrators. Parents have reported that during these meetings officials have presented students with photographs from the November 1, 2007 protest. These photographs contained numbers and names above the images of each student present at the sit-in. Parents and students were encouraged to provide names of those who organized the event, in return for amnesty for cooperating students.
A petition being circulated by Chicago Students for a Democratic Society has received national and international support, garnering over 6,500 signatures in just under two days. The petition has won support from notables including antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, authors Ron Jacobs and Joshua Frank, Kathy Kelly from Voices for Creative Nonviolence, and former U.S. ARMY Colonel and U.S. diplomat Ann Wright.
Chicago Students for a Democratic Society condemns the militarization of schools and supports all students, especially those at Morton West High School, who struggle for a moral and just society without war. We urge all students and community activists throughout the country to stand in support of these students and to take part in the coming week of action against the war.
To view the national petition in support of the students, visit: www.petitiononline.com/mortonw/petition.html
For more information on the case, go to chicago.indymedia.org.