La Voz

Media Credit: Robert Erdei De Anza College student Roseryn Bhudsabourg sings to students as part of the "U.S. Out of Iraq Now" protest rally on Feb. 6. Activist club Students for Justice sponsored the event, hoping to encourage participation in a March 18 protest in San Francisco.

Blood-splattered signs taped down to the pavement reading "Iraqi civilian count: 63,573" and "How many more will die for their selfish interests?" helped boost a Students for Justice rally at De Anza College last Tuesday.

The event featured De Anza student hiphop, spoken word and poetry slam performances to raise awareness about the Iraqi conflict.

Youth and Student Act Now to Stop War and End Racism San Francisco representative Lacei Amodei came to De Anza to help organize the event.

"ANSWER wants the American people to be a force on the streets and bring home our troops," Amodei said. "And it doesn't stop with Iraq. We want to stop U.S. occupation in Palestine, Afghanistan, Cuba and other nations." Rishvika Udaya Kumar, a first-year De Anza student, said Students for Justice is not against the United States government, they would like to see the military come back safely.

"We're trying to bring sensitivity to all aspects of the war: innocent civilians, [and] our soldiers," said the current De Anza Associated Student Body senate member.

"We want to give them a voice and turn attention to the injustices happening over there." De Anza professor of Sociology Rich Wood and Iraqi-American professor of Sociology at California State University Sacramento Dr. Ayad al Qazzaz will both speak during "U.S. Out of Iraq Now" event this Thursday at the Administration building from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

SFJ and other organizations such as Haiti Action, Veterans for Peace, and Free Palestine Alliance will participate in a nationwide march to bring American soldiers back from Iraq.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. are some of the major cities where the demonstrations will take place.

The San Francisco demonstration is organized by Youth and Student ANSWER and the march is scheduled to go from Embarcadero Plaza to the Civic Center on Sunday, March 18 at noon.

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