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6A the university daily kansan
news
wednesday, april 28, 2004
Professor protests for peace, justice
By Samia Khan skhan@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
During a peaceful protest in downtown Lawrence, a young woman screamed out her car window at Allan Hanson and the other members of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice. She told the group they should be ashamed of themselves for protesting the war in Iraq because her father is fighting there.
Amanda Kim Stairrett/Kansan
Hanson wanted to explain to the woman that the group does support the troops. That's why he's out there. He even shows it with a support the troops sign in his yard.
"You just wish that person would stop and you could talk to them," he said. "We believe the policy that put the troops there is very flawed."
Jane Gibson, professor of anthropology, said Henson was a leader in the community.
He said his involvement with the group did not take all of his time. Hanson said the faculty was supposed to do service as well as conduct research and teach. The coalition is his form of community service.
Allan Hanson is a professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice. His group has a vigil at noon every Saturday outside the courthouse, 11th and Massachusetts streets, to protest the war in Iraq.
"It is very clear to those of us who admire him that he feels this work is his responsibility as a citizen of this country and of humanity," she said. "He leads a veru
Hanson has been a professor of anthropology at the University of Kansas since 1966. In addition to his research and teaching, Hanson helped start the Lawrence Coalition of Peace and Justice in the mid-70s. He became involved to oppose the Vietnam War. Now, 25 years later, he is coordinator of the organization and protesting the war in Iraq.
principled life."
principled life. The coalition began during the Vietnam War to bring in speakers and stimulate talks. The group eventually decided to expand its activities to include street demonstrations and vignals.
Hanson said the attendance and membership at coalition events varied on the situation in the world. When events are more concerning, there are more people engaged in activities, he said.
the group has had vigils on Massachusetts Street outside the Lawrence courthouse every Saturday at noon since Sept. 7, 2002. Each week, 20 to 350 people participate, depending on the situation overseas. The vigils have been the longest sustained string of protests for the group. Hanson, who has been coordinator since 1992, has missed only six of the vigils.
Hanson said the group provided him with a sense of fellowship.
sip.
"It helps to know that there are other people who think the same way and are willing to put themselves out on the line week after week, sharing outrage after outrage," he said.
One of the main goals of the group is bringing issues to the attention of the public, which is the biggest purpose of the vigils. Hanson said most people show support by honking their horns or waving, but a few people express their disagreement in unconstructive ways. The group has seen everything from the finger to obscene comments. He said he wished more people would have the desire to have a productive conversation instead.
conversation assistant Quincy McCrary is a Lawrence graduate student in anthropology
who has worked as a research assistant for Hanson. He said Hanson had a very deep sense of creating dialogue for justice and eliminating the desire for war.
Hanson is concerned with the level of anti-Americanism the government's policies are creating. He said the group wanted the United States to be cooperatively and constructively engaged in the world.
ize how difficult it was to achieve peace and justice. But he said there was still something he could do, and the coalition helped him fulfill that sense of obligation.
Looking at history, Hanson said it could be troubling to real-
"I don't want anybody to get killed, and I want there to be justice in the world," he said. "If I don't try in whatever small way I can, then I just don't think I'm being a full human being."
Kerry criticizes Bush's job plan
Edited by Danielle Hillix
The Associated Press
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry told voters from Ohio's rust belt yesterday that President Bush's record on job creation should be described as "mission not accomplished."
The charge came four days before the May 1 anniversary of Bush's declaration of an end to major combat operations in Iraq. The president made the announcement aboard an aircraft carrier bearing a banner that read "Mission Accomplished." Critics derided the banner and the declaration after U.S. casualties mounted.
Kerry said manufacturing jobs had not been created during a single month of Bush's presidency. Instead, he said, the economic focus of the administration has been on extending tax cuts for the wealthy.
year.
Speaking to several hundred people at an outdoor rally, Kerry reminisced about the days the Youngstown Sheet and Tube factory operated. It abruptly
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said the 759,000 jobs created during the last seven months demonstrated that Bush's economic policy was working. He repeated the Bush campaign argument that Kerry has proposed $2 trillion in spending that would result in higher taxes. Kerry has disputed the figure and said he would raise taxes only on Americans who make more than $200,000 a year.
closed in 1977 but Kerry tapped into resentment in a town that has never returned to the heyday of Ohio's steel industry.
of Ohio's steel industry.
"Today all that comes off the line at Youngstown Sheet and Tube are memories, memories of a not-so-different past when steel was at the center of life in Ohio and America was still a manufacturing titan," he said.
"And I am here in Youngstown this morning. I am here in Ohio today, to make it clear that I believe that manufacturing should not and must not be a part of America's distant past."
Kerry said if the government invested in new industries and science,paid for job training and education,and fought for fair trade,the country could put all those who lost their jobs back to work.
Kerry also criticized the Bush campaign for spending heavily on negative advertising.
on negative advice. "All they do is attack," he said. "They've spent $70 million in the last seven weeks trying to destroy my record, my reputation. But Americans are smarter. Americans want leadership. Americans want to move forward."
ward.
Bush has spent at least $60 million through next week on television ads, some of which criticize Kerry and some of which highlight his own agenda. Kerry has spent at least $17 million on television ads in the general election, including some which accused Bush of misleading America and supporting the outsourcing of jobs.
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