RUSA, RAW rock message of ‘drop beats not bombs’
Daily Targum
Jared Khan / Contributing Writer
Published: Sunday, November 16, 2008
The house band Toad played rock music that sounded throughout Room 101 in Hickman Hall on Douglass campus and trailed into the hallway as students, city residents, poets and activists, young and old, filled the auditorium. The band stopped playing as poets took the stage to begin a night of spoken word.On Friday night, Rutgers Against the War and Rutgers University Student Assembly hosted the public event Drop Beats Not Bombs featuring the poet, writer, musician and actor Saul Williams.RAW and RUSA worked with the Justus League, Combat Paper, Verbal Mayhem and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer and Questioning People of Color Alliance to organize the event, said Tiffany Cheng, a School of Arts and Sciences senior and a main administrator for the event.
Money from the Rutgers University Student Association helped to fund this event but organizers tried to stay with the lowest budget possible, Cheng said.Cheng said she estimated a total of 19 poets listed to perform along with Williams. This number included but was not limited to poets from RAW and members of the Combat Paper Project, an Iraqi veteran mission that encourages reconciliation for their overseas military experience.The event attracted more than 200 people. This was about three times the amount since last year, said Ian Khadan, a spoken word poet who attended last year’s event.Cheng said the event was located in a smaller venue last year, but this year they expected a larger turnout with Williams speaking. “I’m impressed … I don’t know how they got Saul Williams,” said Annalise Leonelli, a Douglass College senior. “The band’s pretty good, too.”
Cheng said Williams’ appearance was done at the last minute.“We were trying to combine someone who became successful with someone with a socially conscious message,” Cheng said.Williams brought his books “Said the Shotgun to the Head” and “The Dead Emcee Scrolls” to the event and they were available for purchase along with some “Drop Beats Not Bombs” T-shirts near the entrance of the lecture hall.Williams held a question and answer period, where he welcomed attendees to inquire about anything on their minds, including asking for advice.The questions varied in topic, going so far as one student’s question on a conflict of interest between romance and her art.Williams answered that romance is integral to the art experience and without his romances his art would be lost.“It’s a mixture of culture and a political message,” said James Mona, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences sophomore and member of RAW. “Being an activist isn’t all about marches and stuff. You can have fun too.”
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Rutgers Against the War puts on Drop Beats Not Bombs
"DROP BEATS, NOT BOMBS"--
It means dissent through words, not violence; it means creating not destroying; it means expression not repression.
Come out to a night of politically and socially conscious spoken word and poetry from Saul Williams, Iraq war veterans, and student orgs.
Featuring:SAUL WILLIAMS--world renown poet and musician--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Williams--http://www.saulwilliams.com/
Readings from Warrior Writers of the Combat Paper Project--http://www.combatpaper.org/--Warrior Writers of the Combat Paper Project with members of Iraq Veterans Against the War share their writings
JustUs League--Your friendly neighborhood poets Ion, Ian Khadan, Assasin, and Nate Kostar--http://www.myspace.com/justusleague0
with Rutgers Against the War,Verbal Mayhem, Native Tongue, Radigals, CASAA, Tent State University, and more to come..
Location: Hickman 101 on Douglass Campus at Rutgers University Street: 89 George St City/Town: New Brunswick, NJ at 7:45 PM
More Information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33139682950
It means dissent through words, not violence; it means creating not destroying; it means expression not repression.
Come out to a night of politically and socially conscious spoken word and poetry from Saul Williams, Iraq war veterans, and student orgs.
Featuring:SAUL WILLIAMS--world renown poet and musician--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Williams--http://www.saulwilliams.com/
Readings from Warrior Writers of the Combat Paper Project--http://www.combatpaper.org/--Warrior Writers of the Combat Paper Project with members of Iraq Veterans Against the War share their writings
JustUs League--Your friendly neighborhood poets Ion, Ian Khadan, Assasin, and Nate Kostar--http://www.myspace.com/justusleague0
with Rutgers Against the War,Verbal Mayhem, Native Tongue, Radigals, CASAA, Tent State University, and more to come..
Location: Hickman 101 on Douglass Campus at Rutgers University Street: 89 George St City/Town: New Brunswick, NJ at 7:45 PM
More Information: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33139682950
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Rutgers should cut ties to war profiteers
Home News Tribune Op/Ed
November 6, 2008
By: Ryan Olander
Rutgers students and community members involved with the student organization Rutgers Against the War, or RAW, have undertaken the arduous task of pressuring the Board of Governors to divest from those companies who profit from the illegal and unjust occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
RAW members obtained the list of companies in which Rutgers is invested. It should dismay everyone to know that the state's educational institution paid for its computers, chalk, microscopes and faculty salaries with money that was soaked in the blood of many innocent Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis and Syrians. These companies include: Raytheon, DynCorp, Halliburton, and L-3 Communications.
After the discovery of Rutgers' profits from the above-named companies and eight other war profiteers, RAW members wasted no time. They began drafting a proposal to present to the Board of Governors imploring the university to divest all monies in these companies, disseminated many petitions for divestment and networked widely with other student unions and organizations, garnering many endorsements for the divestment campaign. It should be noted that the current campaign is modeled after the successful Rutgers South African divestment campaign that gained notoriety in the 1980s. I was astounded to find out that this divestment campaign recently tripled in size with Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark also beginning active divestment work on their campuses.
New Jersey residents should show their disgust for our state university's value of profits over justice, life and liberty — a sad trend engulfing the American political system and its policies and now creeping into its great beacons of learning. Please be prepared to stand in solidarity with Rutgers students throughout their struggle to make their university live up to an ethical standard to which its students and American citizens at large adhere with steadfast dedication.
November 6, 2008
By: Ryan Olander
Rutgers students and community members involved with the student organization Rutgers Against the War, or RAW, have undertaken the arduous task of pressuring the Board of Governors to divest from those companies who profit from the illegal and unjust occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
RAW members obtained the list of companies in which Rutgers is invested. It should dismay everyone to know that the state's educational institution paid for its computers, chalk, microscopes and faculty salaries with money that was soaked in the blood of many innocent Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis and Syrians. These companies include: Raytheon, DynCorp, Halliburton, and L-3 Communications.
After the discovery of Rutgers' profits from the above-named companies and eight other war profiteers, RAW members wasted no time. They began drafting a proposal to present to the Board of Governors imploring the university to divest all monies in these companies, disseminated many petitions for divestment and networked widely with other student unions and organizations, garnering many endorsements for the divestment campaign. It should be noted that the current campaign is modeled after the successful Rutgers South African divestment campaign that gained notoriety in the 1980s. I was astounded to find out that this divestment campaign recently tripled in size with Rutgers-Camden and Rutgers-Newark also beginning active divestment work on their campuses.
New Jersey residents should show their disgust for our state university's value of profits over justice, life and liberty — a sad trend engulfing the American political system and its policies and now creeping into its great beacons of learning. Please be prepared to stand in solidarity with Rutgers students throughout their struggle to make their university live up to an ethical standard to which its students and American citizens at large adhere with steadfast dedication.
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