Anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan to lecture

By Brent VonCannon
The Collegian

Fresno State students, faculty, and the general public have an opportunity today to hear from one of the most well-known national figures of the war in Iraq — Cindy Sheehan. The anti-war activist and California native will speak at 7 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union.

Sheehan became a national spokesperson for the anti-war movement after her son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. She made national and international headlines when she and supporters camped out close to President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas in August 2005, demanding to meet with Bush and insisting on an end to the war.

Since then, Sheehan has crisscrossed the world, giving speeches, meeting world leaders and demanding that “not one more mother’s child die” for a war she claims was based on lies and misinformation.

“She goes across the United States doing lectures,” said Whitney Thompson, president of Campus Peace and Civil Liberties Coalition, one of the organizations sponsoring her visit. “She had a great loss with her son. But instead of just sitting around, she’s going around trying to do something and make a difference.”

Sheehan’s lecture is also sponsored by the Women’s Studies department and numerous community organizations.

Thompson said Sheehan’s appearance at Fresno State was an exciting opportunity for students to learn from someone who has suffered a terrible personal loss, yet fights on for her beliefs. Of the expected audience, she added, “We live next to some military bases, so it should be an interesting mix.”

Elizabeth Swearingen of the Women’s Studies department spoke with Sheehan over the weekend at Syracuse University in New York at a gathering of feminists from all over the world that discussed, among other things, war and its effects related to feminism. Swearingen described Sheehan as a warm and very intelligent speaker.

“Sheehan is a catalyst who’s been able to bring together lots of anti-war activists,” Swearingen said, adding that the anti-war movement isn’t as united as it was a generation ago in the Vietnam conflict. “She doesn’t speak as an academian, but as a mother.”

Swearingen said she expects Sheehan to share her story and that of her son today’s lecture, as well as touch on her definition of patriotism, the role of today’s military in society and options for students, particularly poor students, that don’t involve joining the military.

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