An earlier SOA protest drew these Obies.
			Oberlin SOA Watch Prepares Protest By Betty Gabrielli
	A 1999 alumna's account of the 1998 march against the School of the Americas: Sara Marcus was a senior when she wrote the article for the Oberlin Alumni Magazine. The fall 1999 march: last year's Oberlin Online story.		OCTOBER 31, 2000--For the third year in a row, a contingent of Oberlin students will take part in the November national protest demanding the closing of the U.S. Army School of the Americas (SOA) at Fort Bennings, Georgia. "In November 1989, six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her 13 year-old daughter were assassinated in El Salvador," says Oberlin SOA Watch co-coordinator Jacqueline Downing, a junior from Topsfield, Massachusetts. "A UN Truth Commission revealed that 19 of the 26 army officers responsible had been trained at the SOA. "Every year since 1989, concerned citizens from throughout the U.S. have gathered at the gates of the Ft. Benning base to demand the closing–from a handful the first year to over 12,000 last year," says Downing, a member of the National SOA Watch Advisory Group. "Some 15,000 are expected this year." More than 100 members of the Oberlin SOA Watch are expected to travel to the November 18-19 demonstration. They will be wearing a new edition of the distinctive green T-shirts that attracted considerable media attention last year. In preparation, students are meeting Mondays at 9:15 P.M. in Wilder 110, where they plan campus consciousness-raising programs and work out the logistics needed to transport such a large group to Georgia. All members of the group will participate in nonviolence training led by Downing and Laurel Paget-Seekins, a senior from Philo, California. Here's what's planned: Tuesday, October 31: The group will enact political-theater scenes on the Oberlin campus throughout the day today. Wednesday, November 1: The group will show SOA documentaries Blood on Our Hands and Crossing the Line at 9 P.M. in Mudd 050. Thursday, November 2: At 8 P.M., Steven Volk, associate professor of history, will speak about the SOA and present slides of last year's vigil at a location to be announced. Friday, November 3: Tabling and a bake sale will take place from 4 to 6 P.M. in Wilder to coincide with the beginning of Parents and Family Weekend, and at 6 P.M. participants will host a flag-, banner-, and poster-making potluck dinner at Community Peace Church, 44 East Lorain Street in Oberlin; area residents are invited. Saturday, November 4: Students who have attended past protests will be available to answer questions and show slides during An All Roads Lead to Georgia recruiting session and bake sale from 2 to 5 P.M. in Wilder 115. Wednesday, November 8: Tear Down the Walls: A Benefit to Close the SOA will be held at the Cat in the Cream coffeehouse from 8 P.M. to midnight. Among the performers will be the Obertones, the Oberlin Can Consortium, Broke Down Shack, folk singer Bridget Matros,a senior from Oberlin, poetry breaks, and "lots of loud fun," says SOA Watch member Ann Neary, a junior from Indianapolis. The suggested donation is $3. "We're really excited to have a wide variety of performers representing folk, bluegrass, a capella, and of course the rockin' beat of the Oberlin Can Consortium," says Neary. "We're hoping for significant support from the community and the campus." An SOA Watch coffeehouse also is being planned for 9 P.M. Friday, November 10, at Spanish House.
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