Special to The Hoya Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Under eight white tents on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets, an activist group dubbed Camp Democracy is continuing the work of anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan in the movement for immediate American troop withdrawal from Iraq. The purpose of the event, which began Sept. 5 and will run through Sept. 21, is to “educate, activate and motivate people to work for nonviolent change and justice,” according to Karen Bradley, one of the coordinators of the event. Bradley, a dance professor at the University of Maryland, said she founded Camp Democracy with a steering committee of about 10 people, all of whom met through anti-war protests and Internet sites denouncing the war in Iraq. “We had a sense that protests only go so far because they last a day. We need to educate and motivate each other, and this takes time, communication and skill-sharing,” Bradley said. Bradley stressed that Camp Democracy was a non-partisan event. David Swanson, a member of the steering committee, explained that Camp Democracy was founded as a continuation of Camp Casey, an antiwar protest last August led by Sheehan after her son, Casey, died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. “We decided to move Camp Casey to [the District of Columbia] and to call it Camp Democracy in order to involve other movements,” Swanson said. According to Swanson, Camp Democracy is also advocating the “funding of all good efforts that are short on money because of the war – things like rebuilding New Orleans and stopping global warming.” Sheehan was not able to attend Camp Democracy because a health emergency forced her to return to her home in California. Swanson said Sheehan remains in support of the event and in contact with its coordinators. Camp Democracy will sponsor several events to better publicize their campaign, including a workshop on how to write protest music and a march at the White House to protest administration policies. Liz Fossett (SFS ’08), president of the College Democrats, said the club will not be attending the event because members remain divided on the Iraq war. “We don’t want to alienate anyone,” she said. “Some of us want to pull out, and some don’t.” Although Camp Democracy is scheduled to end next week, Bradley promised “support to anyone who is willing to take over the movement.”