Monday February 19th @ 8:00pm

Dissenters is a coalition of college students on 25 different campuses around the country that are actively engaged in “turning the tide against endless war.” It is an intersectional movement that connects the dots from racism to militarism to poverty and organizes against political and corporate elites in order to create a safer, more just, more livable world.

Recently the Dissenter chapter at UMass Amherst organized to get Raytheon and other war profiteers off campus. Among their demands were to end Raytheon’s campus recruitment, research, collaboration on curriculum, joint faculty appointments, and partnerships. That effort is described in this article: New UMass Group Works to Oust Raytheon From Campus.This webinar will describe the approach of Dissenters across the country as well as the specific student efforts at UMass Amherst.

Presenters:

Ava H. is a recent graduate of UMass Amherst who partook in Dissenters Students for Justice in Palestine organizing efforts during the Fall. She is particularly focused on how the struggle for Palestine’s freedom is an indictment in the university’s complicity in war profiteering, and how efforts to cut ties with defense contractors ties to a broader goal of democratizing the university.

Breanna J. is a senior biology major and philosophy minor at UMass Amherst. She joined Dissenters mid-September and immediately fell in love with organizing. Currently, she is investing her efforts towards the liberation of Palestine and a demilitarized world. As someone who is proud of her culture and community, she strives to create a world where all human beings can flourish without limit or fear. But for right now, she’s focusing on holding her college accountable for it’s part in militarization and war-profiteering.