Conference Update (February 7th)

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March on the RNC to Stop the War

Organizations from around the country have endorsed the call for this important demonstration. We say:

U.S. Out of Iraq Now!

Money for human needs, not for war

No to the Republican Agenda

Demand peace, justice and equality

Click here to read more on why we are marching, and who will join us.

2/7/08
Update sent to all registrants
Dear friends,

The Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War is looking forward to meeting you this weekend and to working together in the coming months to plan a great demonstration in September. More than 100 people are expected from across the country. This email contains helpful information for everyone planning to attend the conference.

LOCATION
Our location has moved to Blegen Hall Room 10. We were planning to meet in the Carlson School, but our reservations were moved to another building. Blegen will be a good space for us, but it’s a little harder to get to if you are not familiar with campus. If needed, please use the directions at the end of this message.

TIME
The program will begin at 9:30am on Saturday. Please come as early as 8:30 to have some breakfast (provided), pick up your conference materials, check out literature tables, and start meeting fellow activists.

COSTS
We will collect a $20 registration fee from each individual upon arrival. The registration fee helps us cover our costs for the conference. If you are coming with a larger group, or as a low-income individual, we will be happy to accommodate your needs. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please give what you can, so we don’t kick off our RNC protest organizing with a debt for this conference!

FOOD
A light breakfast, coffee and light snacks will be provided both days to all conference-goers. In addition, we will offer lunch both days, and dinner on Saturday, at a cost of $5 per meal. Please plan to pay this when you arrive. When you pay, we will ask whether you prefer the vegetarian option, and we will order the number of meals that are paid for each morning. If you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to ask.

WEATHER
Okay, the rumors are true. Minnesota is cold in the winter. The forecast for Saturday is a high of 20° and a low of -6°, windy with some snow. That will seem not so bad when Sunday rolls along, with a predicted high of 5°. Needless to say, bundle up, and wear layers!

DIRECTIONS
Blegen Hall is located at 269 19th Avenue S, Minneapolis. This is within the West Bank part of campus. If you are coming by bus, or being dropped off by your chauffer, there’s a great entrance right on Washington Avenue. That said, immediately after the drop off, the car will be heading for the other side of the Mississippi River, so it won’t help you if you are driving yourself. The 19th Avenue parking ramp is about 2 blocks from Blegen Hall. A map of the neighborhood is attached.

2/3/08
Program coming together
We have confirmed and finalized most of the speakers for the plenaries on Saturday - check the conference program page for details.

For the small groups, we got through about half of the requests, and approved all of those that we considered - Youth & Students, Immigrants Rights, Trade Unionists, Low Income People, Palestine Solidarity and Know Your Rights. We will review the others, and confirm with everyone after our Tuesday meeting. Sorry if this notice is tight for some people - we are doing our best!

To help us with our logistics, PLEASE make sure that you and everyone coming with you has registered. We need to finalize housing and food arrangements ASAP. Thank you to the 70+ who have already taken care of this.

2/3/08
Who's coming
We have people coming from the following organizations:

AFSCME Local 3800
Alliance for Global Justice
Anti-War Committee
Arlington United for Justice and Peace
CODEPINK St Cloud State Univ. Chapter
Communities United Against Police Brutality
Fellowship of Reconciliation (MN)
Fight Imperialism Stand Toghether
Freedom Road Socialist Organization
I-Witness Video
International Action Center
International ANSWER
Iraq Peace Action Coalition
Latinos Against War
Madison Infoshop
MN Cuba Cmte
MN Immigrants Rights Action Coalition
MN Women's Earth Brigade
National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
Neighbors for Peace (Evanston, IL)
Neverwood Collective (Madison, WI)
Northland Antiwar Coalition
Pagan Cluster
Palestine Solidarity Group (Chicago)
Revolting Queers
RNC Welcoming Committee
SDS-Univ. of Illinois Chicago
SDS-University of MN
SDS- Univ. North Carolina Asheville
SDS-Univ. North Carolina Charlotte
SDS-Univ. of California Los Angeles
SDS-Univ. North Carolina Chapel Hill
SWEEP-MN
Teamsters Local 743 New Leadership Slate
Troops Out Now Coalition
Twin Cities Peace Campaign - Focus on Iraq
Unconventional Action (Chicago)
United for Peace and Justice
UW-Madison Campus Anti-war Network
Veterans for Peace Chapter 27
Veterans for Peace Chapter 80
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Welfare Rights Committee
Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice
Women Against Military Madness
Youth Against War and Racism (South West High School)

1/25/08
Confirmations sent via email
Everyone who has registered for the conference was sent a confirmation email today. If you did not get this email, your registration didn't get to us, or we don't have an accurate email for you. Please go to http://marchonrnc.org/conference_registration and submit a registration form.

1/18/08
Tables
If your group would like to set up an information table at the conference, please contact us. We will be pulling this together later, but space is available for those who are interested.

Registration
Many of you have already registered - thank you! We have not yet had a chance to send out confirmations, but don't worry. We are happy you are coming! Look for a message from us as soon as we have more information to offer.

By jrsundin at 01/24/2008 - 09:53
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We recognize that protests at the RNC will take many forms. With that in mind, we have worked for common ground with other forces to ensure that our various projects work in concert, with a commitment to ensure no one's plans are disrupted or undermined by fellow protesters. Our coalition agrees to the following principles for the September 1, 2008, March on the RNC.

(1) our solidarity will be based on respect for diversity of tactics and the plans of other groups.

(2) the actions and tactics used will be organized to maintain a separation of time or space.

(3) any debates or criticisms will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events.

(4) we oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance, infiltration, disruption and violence. We agree not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.