MDS-Austin - D. Hamilton

About a dozen veteran Austin activists met yesterday for the chapter-founding potluck dinner at the home of Alice and Carlos. Most of the meeting was devoted to good food, the renewal of old ties and discussion of what MDS is and could be, both in Austin and nationally.

Several of action decisions were made. One was to meet again in a month (at a larger, probably public facility allowing for greater participation) and to grow and diversify in the meantime. The second decision was to support the March 17th march against the Iraq War in Austin. This is called the "Million Musicians March" and takes place in conjunction with the SXSW music festival. The third was to revive the successful yard sign project that took place at the beginning of the Iraq War, using the slogan "For Peace / Bring the Troops Home Now". The original project was run by Austin Against War. We feel we can be even more successful with it now, as
sentiment against the war has only become broader and deeper. We also feel that a yard sign project carrying a MDS/SDS logo will effectively announce our presence to the Austin community. There was a consensus that the yard signs would be easy to distribute. There was also discussion of the financing of the project. It was hoped that once off the ground, the project could repay its initial expenses and its finance its own growth.

Austin MDS/SDS now has a list serve, set up by the national organization. I was designated the moderator. I don't exactly know yet what that involves, but will try to keep postings to a minimum of crucial information.

David Hamilton