San Francisco's Lowell High School Rallies and Walks Out Against the War-Pictures

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It is heartening to see the young people at Lowell High take the bold stand of opposing the war and actually doing something about it. This movement needs to grow rapidly across the country, and together with the older protesters we can succeed.

It is the workingclass who are the most harassed by the military, but of all the schools where there was any kind of planned rally, only the elite Lowell High School had a rally. Lowell High School has an academic entrance exam and thus is the only public high school in San Francisco that can be safely called an adequate high school because it is treated as a college prepatory academy. It is in effect a private school within our public school system, receiving all the education money. The school board should abolish the entrance exam to Lowell and spread the money around to all the schools. The racism inherent in this private school setup in our public school system is obvious.

As to walking out of school, that is not what any peace movement is about. We support education and the students should demand better education for all public school students, especially for the workingclass students who fill the public school system. That would be really turning swords into plowshares.

As to stopping any war, I certainly clearly remember how the Vietnam War ended: The Vietnamese people, aided with arms from the socialist world, defeated the US military, the mightiest imperial gang of thugs the world had ever seen since Nazi Germany on April 30, 1975. Our massive protests, including making every college a center of protest after 1968, did succeed in ending the draft in 1973, and that is when most of the protests ended. No protest movement can end a war. Wars are ended either when there is a victory, as we saw in Vietnam, or when labor is strong enough to declare a general strike to bring down the government perpetrating the war, as happened in Germany during World War 1, causing the Kaiser to flee the country to Holland, and allowing Russia to carry out the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Wars also end when people stop fighting them, and that is why it is important to (a) demand that all schools receive the same education funds and offer the same advanced placement courses as exist at Lowell and (b) organize the workingclass students to oppose the military and never join the military.

In reality, "700 students" is a blatant lie. That was Lowell's "MOD 13", and nearly everybody that that period off for one reason for another. Just a clarification. Let's not be drama queens.

i think there were definately at least 700 students, maybe more. it was packed! people were so into it, it was great. all my friends from other schools heard about the protest and are pumped. hopefully other schools will be inspired to hold similar actions... what do you all think? what about a city or state-wide student strike against the war? when could work?