Community Action and Social Justice

The Community Action and Social Justice Coalition (CASJ) is a community of individuals who are interested in working for social change.

CASJ also is a coalition of many campus clubs that seek to accomplish diverse social justice goals. CASJ exists to help clubs combine resources, network, and connect with the AU community and the greater DC Area to effectively pursue a campus agenda for change.
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Weekly Email September 16 2007

Hello CASJers,
Ready to get involved?? Here's the current list of CASJ clubs and meeting times, as well as one event! Also, be sure to check out the general notes at the bottom of the email--important info for you and your friends.

  • Monday


Fair Trade Student Association
8:30 pm MGC 200

AU Solidarity Meeting
9:30 pm Kay Basement
--Shuttle Bus Driver Organizing--

  • Tuesday


Empower DC Rally
City Council Action Day to Save Public Property
9:00 am Wilson Building. 1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
"Public Property for Public Use Not Private Profit!"
Contact Laura Taylor for more info This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

AU Trade Justice Meeting
8:00 pm in CASJ office

  • Wednesday


Eco-Sense
7:00 pm Butler Board Room

Student Campaign for Burma Meeting
7:00 pm Kay Basement Offices

Justice Not Jails
8:00 pm Steps of Kay (meet and we will find somewhere warmer)

  • Thursday


AUARE, AU Animal Rights Effort Meeting
8 pm outside Kogod

Fair Trade Student Association Event
8:00 pm MGC 200
Jackie DiCarlo, author of Fair Trade, will be speaking about her newest work on making the concept of fair trade understandable to everyone. Fair trade coffee and chocolate will be served!

Student Advocates for Native Communities Meetig
9 pm in the CASJ office

  • Friday


Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels
5 pm Steps of Kay
--Come along for a sweet group bike ride along the Capital Crescent trail to Hain's Point

 

 

  • Saturday


Have fun!

  • Sunday


Food Not Bombs
1pm in Kay Basement

General Notes...

Clean Your Room for Darfur
   STAND (national student Darfur group) is having their national convention in DC, and is looking for hosts for visiting activists. All you need to do is let your guest in on September 29th and 30th, and let them sleep on your floor. If you host, you can attend the conference for free if you want. Email your name, room number, cell phone number, gender, and desired number of guests (1 or 2) to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

 
RADICAL RUSH '07
Get Rad.

Tuesday 9/4 7 pm Location TBA Screening of Sir No Sir --a film about the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam--

7:30 pm in front of Kay AU Animal Rights Effort Meeting

Wednesday 9/5 6 pm on the Quad REcapture the Flag

Thursday 9/6 7 pm on the Quad Fair Trade Banana Splits Hosted by the Fair Trade Student Association

Friday 9/7 6 pm in front of Kay Critical Mass (aka Awesome Group Bike Ride!) Hosted by Dinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels

Saturday 9/8 1 pm Location TBA Teach In and BBQ with the Shuttle Bus Drivers Union

 
Community Convo part 3

Community Conversation No. 3, January 21st.
OPENING THOUGHTS:Laughing    

  • Overview of consensus process, sparkle fingers etc. We are tryingto create a space where everyone feels empowered and included.
  • Overview of why we are having these meetings - want to create space for CASJ community to meet, receive feedback, & take more ownership of projects. People need to feel supported in the work that
    they are doing. Skillshares are important to pass on information as
    people leave.
  • Keep in mind intent v. impact of what you are saying.


AGENDA ITEMS:

Social justice part of Methodist group is having an event in Feb. called Bread for the World- they will come on campus, teach people how to write a letter to representatives focusing on the millennium development goals. Does CASJ want to co-sponsor, or people from CASJ want to go?

6 pm critical mass on Friday


Anti-war march this Saturday- RCDC contingent and general AUcontingent leaving Sat. morning, meeting at 10 outside of Kay. Rally starts at 11, march at 1. critical mass contingent leaving at 2. group
meeting outside kay at 10 to go together. Guerilla poets will be there with mother drumship, so bring pots and spoons and buckets if you want. Radical youth/black bloc leaving from Dupont-go with them if you but be prepared and have friends with you.

 

  • RCDC practice this Wednesday night, probably 8 pm, location TBA. Talk to Meghan Hynes for more info.
  • Rachel is making a flyer for the march. We are putting them outside CASJ office w/a signup sheet to say how many you took/where you put them.
  • We are making posters this Thursday evening (time TBA). Brendan will talk to Rob and Hunter about stencils.
  • Today was the March for Life. NOW had a rally from 5-6 for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade in front of steps of Supreme Court. Hope you could make it.
  • Anarchist reading group. Kickoff dinner this Tuesday at 6 pm, meet in MGC lobby and we'll swipe you. Talk to Rae for more info.
  • Radical black history events. Panel on gentrification? Community contacts? Speakers? Rae, Rachel Harlich, Jordan and Laura are going to work on this tomorrow.
  • Does someone from CASJ want to sit on the Kay interfaith council? Once a week meetings (hour or so), have to go every week. We need someone by this Wednesday! Would be helping plan events to have interactions btw people from different faith backgrounds. This is important as the chaplains have been supporting us year after year. We need to show that we care.
  • Skillshares! Screenprinting workshop. Everybody likes this one! It'll be a Sunday or Thursday evening. We'll send an email to all clubs. They will learn the skills and can then use the equipment at any time to make all their shirts! Time and place TBA after we talk to Matt.
  • Also! Another facilitation workshop ASAP. Brendan can't do it all the time. Need to get word out. After community meeting he will go to individual clubs. Two Sundays from now (the 4th), at 5 pm. We'll try to get a Ward or MGC room.
  • Club information fair in MGC 11-2:30 on Thursday Feb. 1st. Clubs need to make quarter sheets and the 5 caucus reps will hand them out (other people free to come as well).  Also, budgets are due Feb. 2nd.
  • We should start a radical newsletter again! This is a great idea! We can cover printing costs. Talk to Britt.
  • March- international women's day:
    1. "No" documentary about rape in black community. WGS wants to do screening, we should get involved.
    2. In Sight- women of color against violence. It would be cool to have them. Talk to Jessica Hollander formore info.
    3. Visions of Feminism conference. Meeting Thursday 7 pm at Sparky's. A few committed people could go. Talk to Emily N. for more info.
    4. Radical CASJ women's event?
    5. SJP wants to do a talk on radical women's movements in Palestine-talk to Miriam and Emily C. for more info.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

  • Concerns about process...  the community established this meeting time as a space to talk about structural issues, but we spent most of this meeting talking about agenda items.
  • Merging MGJ and CASJ. Should we do that? Same type of space, many of the same people, it used to be that way.
  • Proposal: lay aside 30-60 minutes in the second half of each meeting to talk about specific process goals. The group seemed in agreement about splitting time in this manner. We will definitely do this next meeting, which will be next Sunday in Letts 3 South lounge again, probably at 5 again. You'll get an email.
  • Weekly meetings would be better than biweekly b/c people who couldn't come to one wouldn't be behind a month. If you can't make it one week, come the next.
  • Questions that people still want to address:       
    1. What is the role of co-facilitators?
    2. How are clubs to be admitted to CASJ?
    3. There are probably others, people should think of them and write them down and decide on one to talk about at the next meeting.

 

  • It is important to set aside time for talking about process, but we also want to make sure that we spend time planning events and actions that are CASJ-wide. We can build good process by working towards our common goals.
  • Food and fun are key. Who wants to bring food next time?!
 
Victory on Sudan Divestment--9/17/06
Victory on Sudan Divestment !!!!!

We have been informed that, due to the pressure of students, the AU Board of Trustees adopted a policy on Sudan Divestment at their semi-annual meeting on Friday.  AU joins universities such as Harvard, Brown, and the University of California in this national effort. Last semester, students from the CASJ Working Group on Sudan Divesment collected 800 petition signatures for divestment and pushed a resolution on divestment through the Student Government Senate unanimously.  The fact that Hillel and Darfur Action brought 100 students to participate in the Darfur rally in NYC this Sunday was also key in persuading the trustees to adopt a policy.

The policy forbids AU's investment team from investing AU funds in oil or gas companies that do business in Sudan.  Oil companies operating in Sudan give the central government tax revenues that are then used to help buy weapons to continue the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.  Please thank Ashley Mushnick, Student Government President, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text85929 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for advocating for Sudan Divestment in the board meeting when none of us could be there.
 

AU CASJ Clubs

50_auare.jpgAUARE AU Animal Rights Effort.

50_labour.jpgAU Solidarity Fight for Worker Rights.

50_trade2.jpgAU Trade Justice Fair Trade is Better for All.

50_darfur.jpgDarfur Action Critically needed advocacy for those in Sudan.

50_dinos.jpgDinosaurs Against Fossil Fuels Bike Activism.

50_enviro.jpgEco-Sense All Things Green, Campaigns & more.

50_trade.jpgFTSA The Fair Trade Student Association.

50_veggies.jpgFood Not Bombs Sharing free veggie food with antimilitarism spice!

50_eco.jpgMovement for Global Justice The All-purpose Social Justice Action Club.

50_ncadp.jpgNCADP The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

50_ncor.jpgNCOR The AU-Based National Conference on Organized Resistance.

50_mt_graham.jpgSANC Student Advocates for Native Communities.

50_burma.jpgStudent Campaign for Burma Advocates for human rights & democracy.

50_palestine.jpgSJP Students for justice & human rights in Palestine.

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