UR Students Present "Week of Resistance to War and Militarism"
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UR STUDENTS PRESENT WEEK OF ACTION AND ART AGAINST WAR IN IRAQ
April 16-20, University of Rochester
For information contact:
David Ladon, David.Ladon@gmail.com,303-908-8732;
Sefira Bell-Masterson, 847-347-2286, Jbellmas@mail.rochester.edu
University of Rochester Students for Social Justice presents a week of action and art to protest the war in Iraq and militarist foreign policy. Throughout the week, performance and public art will critique the war in Iraq, encourage solidarity with Iraqi civilians, and challenge the role defense contractors play in the creation of aggressive US foreign policy.
The week is scheduled to parallel the Rochester Institute of Optics’ Industrial Associates Meeting (April 16-17), which will host some of the nation’s top defense contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
Parade For Profits
Monday April 16 11:45am-1pm
River Campus – Eastman Quadrangle
A satirical piece of street theater, Parade for Profits is a pro-war parade celebrating the economic achievements of the defense contractors featured at the Industrial Associates Meeting. Features Jugglers, Band, and Cheerleaders.
UR Checkpoints
Tuesday April 17 12-3pm,
River Campus – Eastman and Wilson Quadrangles, Behind Library
Students, acting as soldiers and civilians, will dramatize militarized checkpoints, reenacting an often violent encounter. These powerful vignettes encourage students to consider daily life in Iraq and solidarity with Iraqi civilians and US troops.
Baghdad University Bombing Installation
Wednesday April 18 11am-3pm
River Campus – Eastman Quad
This large-scale exhibit depicts the aftermath of the Baghdad University bombing including articles of damaged, burned, and bloody clothing, books, bookbags, shoes, as well as large pieces of rubble
Vulnerabodies
Thursday April 19 12-3pm
River Campus – Eastman Quad
An interactive performance art piece that broadcasts peoples’ vulnerabilities, thereby recognizing one another’s’ humanness. This work seeks to make political change for peace by altering the process of communication.
Corporate Elite Parade to Support Iraq War
Rochester, NY. April 16, 2007 – A coalition of corporate CEO’s, political activists, economic theorists, and aristocratic philosopher-kings will be holding a parade in support of the war in Iraq on Monday, April 16, at 11:50am. The event, entitled, “A Parade for Profitsâ€, celebrates the accomplishments of corporations in the field of military technology and their growing profits under current U.S. foreign policy. The parade, which expects to draw a crowd of 50, will feature a marching band, jugglers, and dancers.
Parade for Profits is meant to compliment the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics’ Industrial Associates Conference, which will also be held on Monday. While a number of less-profitable industries will be represented at the conference, the proverbial Goliath of Industrial Associates will be the defense industry, which includes Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Raytheon. “We want everybody to know how important it is that these corporations continue to produce massive quantities of weapons. Without them, we’d be broke,†exclaimed event organizer, Ima Spender.
“It is so easy to get caught up in the monotony of daily routine – like fox hunting and designer shopping – and it is important for us to come together and celebrate the financial accomplishments of the defense industry,†exclaimed co-organizer, Ivan Monet. “So many ungrateful Americans forget that corporations are people, too.â€
The event will begin at 11:50 on the front steps of Rush Rhees with opening remarks. At noon, the parade will begin through campus, and will return to Rush Rhees for concluding songs.
Parade for Profits is a theatrical performance, meant to bring attention to the fact that companies recruiting students at University of Rochester, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, lobbied for and profit from the war in Iraq.
MILITARY CHECKPOINTS STREET THEATER TO “BRING WAR HOMEâ€
Rochester, NY. April 17, 2007 – Students will present UR Checkpoints, a street theater dramatization of life under occupation on Tuesday, April 17. Part of “A Week of Spirited Resistance against War and Militarism,†actors will portray soldiers and civilians in a loud and public re-creation of a militarized security checkpoint. The performance will begin at 12:30 pm on the Academic Quad and continue at selected high-traffic sites throughout the University of Rochester campus until 3:00 pm. Please call contact for specific times and locations.
This street theater demonstration will raise awareness about the realities of US occupation in Iraq and militarized zones throughout the world. The event seeks to increase student solidarity for both Iraqi civilians and US soldiers. “With this performance we hope to bring the war home and ask students how they would respond to militarized security checkpoints on their streets,†says student and actor Adam Machson-Carter.
Students for Social is a Students Association funded organization at the University of Rochester. Our ambition is to enact a forum for social change through raising awareness of current issues and the organization of and involvement in social action. “A Week of Spirited Resistance to War and Militarism†will run from April 16-20. It is a series of events and art on the UR campus confronting issues of war and militarism.
STUDENTS RECREATE AFTERMATH OF BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY BOMBING
April 8, 2007 – University of Rochester students present a 3D art installation of giant proportions on April 18th from 10:30am to 6pm on the Eastman Quad (for rain location call contact). Students for Social Justice presents the fictionalized front page of a newspaper, focused on media and militarism, bringing to life the story of the January bombing of Baghdad University.
Students for Social Justice endeavors to bring a sense of reality to the continued conflict in Iraq. As it drags into its 4th year we perceive in ourselves and our community an increasing desensitization to the constant news regarding the seemingly endless violence in Iraq. By bringing this violence to a visceral reality on our campus we hope to pull our community back to dialogue and reflection. We have chosen the bombing of Baghdad University in an attempt to allow our university community an opportunity to connect to our peers in Baghdad through the shared realities of a university setting.
Students for Social is a Students Association funded organization at the University of Rochester. Our ambition is to enact a forum for social change through raising awareness of current issues and the organization of and involvement in social action.
VULNERABLE BODIES PERFORMANCE TO QUESTION WAR AND SECURITY
University of Rochester. April 19, 2007 – UR students Madeliene Cutrona and Jessica Bell-Masterson will present a performance art exhibit, Vulnerable Bodies, on Thursday, April 19 from 12:30-2:30 pm in front of Rush Rhees Library. In this powerful piece of public art, the artists will verbally broadcast and record in writing participants vulnerabilities and emotions in order to capture the consequences of staying human at a time of war.
Vulnerable Bodies will open community space for dialogue and build connections between students. According to artist Madeliene Cutrona, “These connections are an effort to re-build peace in the midst of war and construct a new foundation to prevent future wars.â€
Students for Social is a Students Association funded organization at the University of Rochester. Our ambition is to enact a forum for social change through raising awareness of current issues and the organization of and involvement in social action. This work is exhibiting as part of a Week of Spirited Resistance and Action, April 16-20, which confronts issues of war and militarism with events and art on the UR campus.