This May, the top 8 most powerful countries will be meeting almost simultaneously as the most powerful military alliance in the world. The meetings this summer will be met by worldwide resistance to the very politics these two organizations will be working to advance. From renewed austerity measures to a global military force, the week of May 18-21 will undoubtedly be one of great mass mobilization. Although they are no longer both being held in Chicago, the decision to split the meetings between two locations tells us that first, the planners are taking notice the global uproar and second, it is an attempt to dilute any dissent from protestors. The need to better understand the significance of these two organizations and their meetings is vital to resistance. Join the University of Texas at Austin's International Socialist Organization in a public meeting explaining this significance and why anyone fighting for social justice must care what happens at these meetings.

Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 7:00pm until 9:00pm
Location: Parlin 304, The University of Texas campus

UT students deliver their second letter to President Powers to demand for WRC (Worker Rights Consortium) affiliation! After 10+ years of UT refusing to sign onto the WRC, the only independent monitoring organization for our collegiate apparel factories, USAS is layin' down our demand in a big way to tell President Powers we are done supporting exploitative working conditions and want to make UT Sweatshop-Free!

There will be a "Justice for Byron Carter" Vigil TONITE at 8:30pm at the site of the shooting, which is 8th St. and eastside (northbound) feeder of I-35. Candles provided. Just show up.

Link to an article regarding the shooting.

Join Occupy UT and USAS laying down on the UT South Mall at 12pm to demand for WRC (Worker Rights Consortium) affiliation!

WHY ARE WE GOING BACK TO THE CAPITOL IN 2012?

If you were part of the 13,000 who rallied at the Capitol last year to fight budget cuts to education, you may ask "Why we are going back when the legislature is not in session?"

Because NOW IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!

It is likely that 130 of 150 house seats will be determined in upcoming primary elections at the end of May. We need to send a message NOW to all candidates and elected officials-including legislators, State Board of Education, and local school boards- that if they want our vote, they need to demonstrate support for public education. We cannot afford to have public officials who believe their only mandate is to cut, cut, cut.

JOIN US on March 24 to say NO to crowded classrooms, NO to more layoffs, NO to higher tuition and reduced financial aid for our college students, and NO to over-testing.

If we don't fight now, we will see more deep cuts in 2013.

Texas can do better. Change Starts NOW!

Please help us determine the accurate number of people attending by officially registering your participation here.

Uproot.it is an ad hoc group of student occupiers, autonomist internauts, social hacktivists, and media militants who make media together and then disseminate it through communication channels, whether that's by taking back the commons or through sharing things on the Internet. Uproot currently has the following projects. More information can be found at uproot.it.

1. #chat (chat.uproot.it)& #students (students.uproot.it) chat hubs
for uproot and for student occupy movements, respectively. The International Student Movements ( ism-global.net) site will also link to the chatroom.
2. #rhizome -- we.uproot.it: privacy-friendly social network for all.
3. #occup2p --- coding collective to build computers for activist-artists
with Linux + free software as well as free wifi mesh network for cities that
will redirect DNS from corporate websites to pro-community alternatives
4. #adblockStreets -- replacing ads with community bulletin boards and art
5. #interfax - link community spaces through fax network
6. #arg - augmented reality (map.uproot.it) -- bulletin board list, edible
plants, abandoned houses, etc. on a community edited map (not up quite yet).
7. #indyportal: aggregated alt.media rss feed publication
8. #pitchplant: the installation of planters with signs in public spaces
that discuss the militarization of these spaces since social upheavals in the
mid-20th century
9. W3/\R-HAUS: a community space in Austin, Texas, USA for groups like The
Challenger Street Newspaper& as a hackerspace open 9 am - 9 pm or people to
collaborate and produce media
10. #mediamass -- hackathons with DJ's and musicians as well as free food
from groups like Food Not Bombs

Follow us on twitter at twitter.com/uprootit and on Facebook at
facebook.com/uproot.it .

“Third Coast Sunday,” a series of monthly gatherings to connect social justice activists is back! This month TCS takes on our education system. We will focus on the various ways public education is (1) failing the most vulnerable students by not providing an equal education for all, and (2) failing to provide all students with the crucial critical-thinking skills needed more than ever. Topics will include the corrosive effects of standardized testing, the criminalization of students through increased policing, unequal funding, and the corporatization of public education.
A panel discussion will include:

--Tim Eubanks, Director of Student Engagement and Youth Programming for Austin Voices. Eubanks coordinates periodic community conversations about education and develops the community organizing, advocacy and critical thinking skills of high school students through the Stand Up program at Reagan, Lanier and Travis High Schools.
--Patricia Lopez, Associate Director for the National Latino/a Education Research and Policy Project and a Research Associate for the Texas Center for Education Policy. Lopez will discuss the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) system.

Also present will be Monkey Wrench Books, as well as representatives from Save Texas Schools.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for socializing, featuring Via 313 pizza and Red Rabbit Cooperative Bakery’s vegan donuts. The panel discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by time for informal conversation with the panelists.

Admission is free, with donations accepted to help with the costs of food.

This call to action is from the Occupy AISD working group of Occupy Austin.

CEO of Pearson, Marjorie Scardino, will be a "keynote" speaker at SXSWEdu conference!

Picket this Wednesday! Gather at 4 pm at the corner of Cesar Chavez and Trinity.

This year's "SXSWedu" conference features people described as the entrepreneurs of education to be celebrated by the Austin Chamber of Commerce. These so-called "rock stars" of the education "reform movement" include Arne Duncan (Obama's Education Secretary whose Race to the Top program is driving privatization and high-stakes testing mania), Marjorie Scardino, (the CEO of education testing / publishing giant Pearson), and Steven Farr (Teach for America Chief "Knowledge Officer").

These people have not made any improvements in quality or equity in schooling; rather they promote practices that have made our schools more unequal and more driven by out-of-control high stakes testing. We will protest to say: SXSW and its sponsors should not use the SXSW brand to give cool points to private interests who are hurting public education and making money in the process.

We are calling for a picket at the Austin Convention Center while Marjorie Scardino is giving her keynote address.

Scardino is the CEO of Pearson, a massive publishing and educational services conglomerate. It holds a $500 million contract with the State of Texas to administer standardized tests, which have recently come under heavy criticism in Texas. Pearson is also being investigated by the New York Attorney General's office for possible ethical violations for its practices in lobbying for business from state and education officials.

For in-depth discussion of Pearson:
www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/the-pearson-graduate

This call to action is from the Occupy AISD working group of Occupy Austin. More info: occupyaisd@gmail.com

Facebook event:
www.facebook.com/events/314278671969087

Note:We are shooting for the 12:15-12:30 in between classes, so PLEASE SHOW UP IF YOU CAN AT 12 FOR THAT!
If you can't make that though, you can come any time between 12-1:30.

End UT's support of sweatshop working conditions! Tell President Power's not only do we not stand for sexual harassment in factories, union busting, forced labor and intimidation to make our clothes, but there is an alternative that 180+ schools around the country have already signed onto!
Join us on this Thursday as USAS (United Students Against Sweatshops) lays down our demand for WRC (Worker Rights Consortium) affiliation! After 10+ years of UT refusing to sign onto the WRC, the only independent monitoring organization for our collegiate apparel factories, USAS is layin' down our demand in a big way! Tell President Powers we are done supporting exploitive working conditions and want to make UT Sweatshop-Free! We'll be laying down (literally) on the South Mall right next to UT's core values in hopes our admin will finally live up to these values!

Date: Thursday March 8th, 12:00pm until 1:30pm
Location: South Mall between flag poles

Come by and bring a UT shirt and help us lay down our demand!
(feel free to write 'I was made in a sweatshop' on your shirt)

Go to tinyurl.com/utusas for more information.
workersrights.org
usas.org

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