June 2010

I created this image in attempt to isolate, and therefore call attention to, the absurdity of the religious zealot. Christianity is one of the pillars that our government uses to falsely purport democracy. The sign on the right of the image was posted on the exit of an evangelical church in Virginia. - Photography and discription by Juniper Fleming

An American solidarity activist was shot in the face with a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Qalandiya on May 31. Emily Henochowicz is currently in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem undergoing surgery to remove her left eye, following the demonstration that was held in protest to Israel’s murder of at least 10 civilians aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters this morning.

It was disappointing to see the Counterpoint Journal publish “Police Department Breaks Up Protest Against Police Brutality” as the article covering the 8 April 2010 march. Since its inception in 2009, the paper has set itself apart by attempting to provide the fullest understanding of conditions, events, and decisions at the Evergreen State College, in the city of Olympia, and for the world. Such a wonderful paper was and is a direct challenge—as its name implies—to the trashy, shallow, poorly edited Cooper Point Journal (CPJ). In that regard, the CxPJ has been a success.

The Obama administration’s new Nation Security Strategy, published on May 22, is indicative of a new direction in American imperial strategy. Since the 1970’s, American economic hegemony has slowly been eroded, first by the reindustrialization of major Western European and Japanese economies that were ravaged by World War II, and more recently by the rise of new economic powers, such as China.

In a meeting scheduled to occur as this issue goes to press, members of the faculty are due to debate and vote on a resolution affirming the College’s commitment to “civility” and condemning the “threatening speech or action[s]” that have supposedly occurred “in recent months.” Reasoning that “uncivil” or “threatening” words and actions have a tendency to silence debate and chill public speech, the administration has asked that faculty members reaffirm their commitment to the civility called for in the Social Contract.

To our peers at The Evergreen State College:

The Board of Trustees unanimously passed an increase on Summer tuition students have been fighting against for months. Tuition for this upcoming Summer quarter will be increased 10% for non-resident undergraduates and 12% for residents. When the decision was made on May 12, students were left with six weeks to come up with the extra cash and less than seven days until registration for Summer opened to decide whether or not they could foot the bill.

No matter what our individual affiliations, tastes, or desires are, one thing that ties us together is food. At Evergreen, students have had to fight tooth and nail and work 40-60 hour weeks on top of classes to get sustainable, self-run, local food service off the ground. Evergreen’s latest and perhaps greatest experiment in selfoperated food service is the Flaming Eggplant. I sat down over a flaming tater salad at their Big Annual Meeting to see what’s up.

A long history

In the past, Evergreen seniors have elected who would be their graduation speaker not from a predetermined list set by the administration, but through their votes alone. In 1999, then-govenor of Washington Gary Locke was set to deliver the commencement speech at Evergreen. Locke cancelled at the last minute, reportedly saying he wouldn’t “share the stage with a convicted cop killer,” and the administration went with the second choice on the list: political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal

I recently came into contact with a friendly pink booklet that, though only forty-one pages long, offers a detailed glimpse into the history of Evergreen’s relationship to the labor movement. Page sixteen and seventeen are devoted to photographs arranged in a yearbook-like spread. Smiling faces beam up from the pages: Four women sing into microphones in front of a banner reading “Summer School for Union Women, June 1993.” Staff at an outdoor food stand offer “Solidarity Shakes” to participants at a conference.