Staff, students and faculty from the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts, as well as members of the larger Amherst-area community and citizens from elsewhere in the Commonwealth, will converge at the Massachusetts State House tomorrow for the latest in a series of protests over the university's decision to award an honorary degree to former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

Demonstrators' plans include a street theater performance about Card's efforts to manage the White House's unwarranted and probably illegal wire-tapping program, as well as his active role in the White House Iraq Group (along with Karl Rove, Conoleeza Rice and Scooter Libby) in promoting the U.S. invasion of Iraq on the basis of information known to be false.

Students dressed as a "wire-tapping intelligence team" will attempt to wire-tap University of Massachusetts president Jack Wilson's office (225 Franklin Street). Others will stage a "die-in" as a reminder of Andrew Card's participation in selling a war that has taken the lives of 650,000 Iraqis and 3400 Americans so far, not to mention more than 25,000 wounded U.S. soldiers and
contractors.

The demonstration will begin on Wednesday, May 23, at 12:30 p.m. at the State House. Protesters will march to 225 Franklin Street through the financial district. The wiretapping, die-in and other protests at President Wilson's office will begin at 1 p.m.

Please, Boston residents!! join us at an event supported by umass students, faculty and staff and local and statewide anti-war coalitions and community members. This is the largest collaboration and campaign to come from the umass campus and community in years. There is just too much wrong with the proposal to honor someone like Card.

Katherine Mallory
STPEC Internship Advisor
E-27 Machmer Hall, UMass
stpecinternship (at) sbs.umass.edu
office: 413-545-0043

yep, all 8 of them showed up.

Where are the promised performers? Where are the puppets? Whom do I complaint? Well, they did seem to have couple small drum-like objects when they started walking down the street.

"Students dressed as a "wire-tapping intelligence team" Aahh, that's why they were in cheap black suits...