Minutes for MPJC meeting for September 6.
Present: Lee, Mary Jo, Dustin, Ed C, Lois, Pam, Rey, Glenda Rae, Zae
Old Business
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes for the August 16th meeting were approved.
- Progress Reports
- MPJC-sponsored presentation "Why Does the U.S. need the United
Nations?" with panelists Ana Garcia Rodicio, George A. Lopez, Paul
Mishler; Thursday, Sept. 9, 7-9 PM, South Bend Public Library.
Zae read an email from Jackie Smith about the upcoming talk and
distributed copies of a poster Jackie had attached to the email.
- MPJC Statement of Voting
Dustin read a summary statement about the proposed MPJC Statement on
Voting, which had been put out to the list for discussion early in the
summer. We agreed that the statement should include general support
for increased access and opportunity to voting, with specific support
for 1) a national holiday for the national election, 2) instant run-off
voting, and 3) national standards for voting eligibility. Dustin will
now send the proposed final version to the list and members are invited
to "fine tune" it, keeping in mind that the substance has already been
discussed and we are putting it in final form.
- Sept. 24-26 National Iraq War Protest
Lee reported that there was not enough interest in this area to charter
a bus to Washington and we agreed that it made sense to proceed to plan
a local observation for Saturday, Sept. 24. Lee will look into the
possibility of a rally in downtown South Bend in the middle of the
afternoon on the 24th. If that is not possible we will expand our
regular Grape and Cleveland vigil, along the lines of the recent Cindy
Sheehan vigil, inviting general participation and the media. Lee will
let us know soon what the specific plan is.
- Sign-making party
Saturday's sign-making party at Zae's yielded about 15 new signs,
including such gems as Honk for an Exit Strategy, National Guard for
National Security, and a sign for the niche market: Bush is
Sauron---Save the Shire.
- Treasurer's Report
Glenda Rae reported a balance of $301.93. The two most recent
expenditures were for dues to Jobs for Justice ($50) and reimbursing
Peter for printing of brochures ($16).
As a corollary to the budget discussion, Lee asked that MPJC once again
purchase a $50 ad for the upcoming Jobs for Justice banquet. A lively
discussion ensued about striking a balance between justifiable
networking and the limits of the MPJC bank account. A compromise was
reached, with MPJC pledging $25 and Mary Jo providing matching funds,
bringing the total contribution to $50.
New Business
- No Child Left Behind We expressed our ongoing support for local efforts
to inform high school students about opting out of draft lists, but were unable
to act further on this item because the appropriate contact people were not
able to attend the meeting. Information about upcoming opt-out meetings can
be posted directly to the list. (See copy of email following the minutes)
- New Topic of the Month
We agreed that the next Topic of the Month should concern our position
on outsourcing (and, possibly, insourcing). Ed volunteered to
formulate the issue for discussion and post it to the list for
responses.
- Lee brought a DVD about the Miami Five (a case which earned the U.S.
condemnation by the World Court) and suggested it might merit a showing
by MPJC. Several members will review it and advise us at the next
meeting (Lee, Paul, Ed,Dustin, Mary Jo, Lois).
- We picked up on the fund-raising thread raised during the
Treasurer's Report. Ed will call the police department to see if there
are any legal issues involved if we have a "Peace Pot" on display at
vigils, with donations going into our Peace Education Fund. We agreed
to solicit funds from the MPJC membership only after a year had passed
since the last solicitation (March).
- Next Meeting Tuesday, October 4, 7-8:30 PM, location to be announced.
Message from Brenna re No Child Left Behind
Hi everyone...
I wanted to send everyone an update from our August
18th "Let Me Decide" high school event...
David Hendricks of Prince of Peace Church provided an
amazing set up at his parish, and "recruited" lots of
help to set out pizza and ice cream sundaes.
About 50 people attended, 35 or so of which were high
school students. WOW!!!
We explained the "No Child Left Behind" info, and Mike
Griffin gave an inspiring talk on peace and the
importance of students taking action. The group
watched clips of a DVD about the military and talked
in small groups.
We decided to hold another event on TUESDAY, SEPTMEBER 20TH. So if any kids
missed the last event, they can come to the next one! I registered our event
on the "Leave My Child Alone" website so we could get a free DVD featuring Cindy
Sheehan. You can find info on
www.partylaunch.com/workingassets?e=Michiana
The South Bend Tribune wants to do a story and some students and myself are
meeting with a reporter tonight.
We have also started a listserv so students can communicate with each other.
If you wish to join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/let_me_decide/
Please email me at brennacussen@yahoo.com
if you have gotten in touch with principals or guidance counselors from any
high schools. If not, start working on it, but let us know who you plan to meet
with!
Peace,
Brenna