National Student Solidarity Networks Launched

Student Solidarity Network

May this be an historic message. By the end of March, 430 students from 93 different schools across the country had signed up to participate in this people-empowered alliance. In the coming weeks, we will be following up with another 140 schools and thousands of other students who have volunteered with Common Ground, making one of the largest college chapter networks of any organization in the country. Through our numbers and motivation, we are empowered to make change happen.

How is your school network developing? It is logistically important that you organize your group before summer break. If you are planning on running the Dumpsgiving fundraiser, please keep us informed and ask questions. Our speaker and workshop tour is developing under the title: The Common Ground Speaker’s Bureau. Please consider asking your school for a budget now for the fall of 2006 so we can afford to send speakers and workshops to the four corners of the country. Further, there are several new updates on the website to assist you: an updated SSN trifold flyer, a detailed dumpsgiving outline and the latest copy of the ‘Breaking Ground’ newspaper are posted for download.

A new forum discussion has been created specifically for the Student Solidarity Network. A list of summer internship opportunities will be coming shortly. Please contact Benjy at cgsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com with updates and for advice or support.

Any day, the City of New Orleans will be posting a new list of 2,100 homes to be demolished in the lower 9th ward alone. There is, however, no guarantee that residents will be aware of their homes red-tag status. There is only a 30-day window after the posting to appeal. Lower 9th ward residents are displaced nation-wide, some are likely near you. Common Ground is preparing to engage in a nationwide media and outreach campaign to notify people of the bulldozing, announce the availability of our services to either assure the demolitions or advocate for folks who do not want their homes bulldozed. If you are interested in getting involved immediately, contact lower 9th ward organizers Sean at sean@riseup.net (973-930-9879); or Michelle at commonmichelle@yahoo.com (415-794-7507). Look for a sample press release and call to action in the near future.

We will send out updates sparingly, but with serious intent. We will not inundate your inbox with a lot of emails. Please email cgsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com for the contact list of students at your school who signed up for the network. Many other students from each school volunteered here; as they come forward, please update us with contact information. Finally, remember, this network will be as strong as we make it. Participation, communication and action are the ingredients to a people-powered revolution.

In Solidarity,

Benjy Adler

Student Solidarity Network Cooordinator

cgsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com

802-598-3028