My name is Sarah Todes and I am organizing a student teach-in this thursday, March 20th, beginning at 4:30 at Emmanuel Church on the corner of Cathedral and Reed streets (it's not a religiously affiliated event). I am a junior theater major at Baltimore School for the Arts but the teach-in is not connected to my school. Things are going very well; everyone has been extremely helpful and I think this will be an incredible experience for everyone involved. So far we have confirmed six speakers: Polly from Fusion who will speak about the racial implications of this war + its effect on people of color, Max Obuszewski who will speak about nonviolent alternatives to war, Peter Molan who will speak about the mistakes of the US and its foreign policy, Ellen Barfield will talk about the current climate in Iraq and the views of Iraqi people, Dean Pappas will give a brief history of US/Iraq relations, and Eric Wolkoff who will support the president's stance on the issue. There are several more pro-war speakers who are not confirmed yet (including a man from the military) and my contacts in the Muslim community said they will send me some speakers. I am passionately against the war I am also passionately against the shutting down of channels of communication and objectifying the "enemy". It is for this reason that I feel it is important to have pro-war speakers as well: not only will it encourage real dialogue between the opposing views, but it will force us to listen closely to each other which is  what really needs to happen right now. This event is directed towards students + young people because the media gives a 'lite', drastically skewed version of what is  happening and I think many people feel like they have no idea what is actually going on. This is a chance for everyone to get some solid background information, see the alternative possibilities to war, get a grip on the complexity of the situation and get their specific questions answered. At this point I am mainly concerned with outreach. The space holds up to 600 people and I want it to be packed. The format will be short speeches from each of the speakers, a musical intermission played by several music majors of Baltimore School for the Arts, and afterwards Q + A session from students to speakers and from the speakers to each other. Please spread the word, especially to schools. We need all the help we can get. Thank you very much,
Sarah Todes