UNCA SUL-SDS organized anti-war protest

Editors, Asheville Global Report, My name is Doug Michel, and I'm writing on behalf of the UNCA Socialist Unity League of Students for a Democratic Society (UNCA SUL-SDS). First off, we are glad to have a good relationship with such a fine publication as the AGR, and hope to continue this lasting relationship as strong voices of the Asheville community and anti-war movement. However, your recent front page article depicting Asheville protesters contains some large errors, which our organization seeks to rectify. We are overjoyed that our protest was featured on the front page; however, the credit for this rally and march "was part of a nationwide campaign organized by World Can't Wait... and Gold Star Families for Peace." While World Can't Wait provided the call for national demonstrations, the UNCA SUL-SDS, a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting against the imperialist war on Iraq, took the leading role in organizing our school and the broader Western North Carolina region for our demonstration. Similarly, while we support Gold Star Families for Peace, they did not announce that they were a part of our event. The media has given false insinuations that this demonstration somehow came together in a spontaneous fashion. A section in your article follows: "In conjunction with the nationwide protests, students from the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) organized a walk-out and march on downtown." This is correct, in a broad sense. However, it runs parallel with the other media biases and neglects the hard work put forth by the UNCA SUL-SDS to create the Oct. 5th demonstration. We had approximately 150 students and community members join our first rally on the UNCA Quad, with 50 or so other protesters joining us downtown at our second rally at Pritchard Park, totaling around 200 protesters. Some World Can't Wait members from Brevard College joined our demonstration, and we appreciated their support. The UNCA SUL-SDS requests that you please publish this note in your next edition to correct these mistakes. Again, we appreciate the fine journalism of the AGR, and the students regard it as a great source for alternative news. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Doug Michel UNCA Socialist Unity League of SDS Asheville, NC