From the new student activism of the past three years, there
has emerged an independent, decentralized, radical student
movement. The local incarnation is the Boston Student Action
Network. BSAN is a network of progressive students and youth
in the Boston metropolitan area working to develop a grassroots
campus movement. We are working toward the creation of a
new society based on social and economic justice through per-
sonal empowerment. We exist to facilitate the development of ac-
tion on individual campuses by sharing our experiences, encour-
aging new activists at schools not currently organized, giving
each other personal support, promoting political education, facil-
itating communication within the network, and planning large
campaigns and actions. In order to include working class and mi-
nority students, we are particularly interested in organizing
schools where they are highly represented. We also attempt to in-
clude nonstudent youth interested in social change. This net-
work will then concentrate their efforts on the community, cam-
pus, and national level campaigns to empower the society.
Students in the network are already involved in issues such
as divestment, the environment, tuition hikes, racism, US inter-
vention, student rights, military research, tenure battles, wo-
myn's rights, corporate control of education, gay rights, gentrifi-
cation, homelessness, and others. We recognize that the
combined effort of single issue groups results in a piecemeal,
fragmented movement that cannot create an alternative to the
greed, militarism, irresponsibility, and oppression that plague
our society and threaten our very survival. Therefore, we advo-
cate an integrative - rather than issue-specialized - approach
that empowers people to challenge the forces that now control
our destiny. We seek a society dedicated to meeting human needs
in harmony with nature, rather than one which serves domina-
tion and profit.
History
Abbie Hoffman called a meeting in Amherst of local university
activists to propose the start of a new national radical student or-
ganization. In the meeting, originally publicized as an informa-
tion session about the upcoming trial, Abbie hoped to inspire the
students to build a 1980's version of the Students for a Democrat-
ic Society. A few months before, his idea had been rejected by the
Amherst organizers and the Progressive Student Network
(PSN), a progressive student organization based in the Midwest.
However, at this meeting, the idea was taken up by several stu-
dents from the Northeast and from Rutgers University. Thirteen
months later, at the National Student Convention at Rutgers, Ab-
bie would accuse some of these same organizers of trying to
thwart the movement by advocating decentralization - local ac-
tion, no bureaucracy, and no media stars. Thus 6C Y s visions met
80's politics.
Like the PSN and the Amherst CIA-On-Trial organizers,
many students at the January 1987 meeting rejected the call for
a national radical student organization. The grass roots and
single issue organizers viewed such efforts as contradictory to
their grassroots politics. By pushing for a national organization
when the general student populace was relatively depoliticized,
a hierarchy would necessarily form that would essentially dictate
the direction of student activism. Several students in the sectari-
an left, including members of the Young Communist League, the
League for Revolutionary Struggle, and the Young Socialist Al-
liance, downplayed the idea, advocating instead the work done
by their respective organizations. Other folks avoided the idea in
order to avoid the egotistical and sexist Abbie Hoffman. Howev-
er, Rutgers University students, who had worked with Abbie in
opposing CIA campus recruitment, were elated with the pros-
pect of a national organization. They announced at the meeting
their intention of hosting the National Student Convention.
When questioned about the danger of building a national hierar-
chy, they answered simply, "What's wrong with a hierarchy?"
In early January of 1987, during the organizing for the much
publicized UMass Amherst CIA Trial (the Abbie and Amy Trial),
(Continued on next page.)
Boston Student Action Network (cont.)
By January 1987, the campuses had experienced two years of
renewed student activism around anti-apartheid, CIA on cam-
pus, and the war in Central America. Action on major campuses
would trigger waves of sympathetic actions on whatever issue
was "hot* that term. Student activists were beginning to net-
work, to look beyond their own campus and beyond their partic-
ular issue. Informal multi-issue networks were starting to form
in urban areas, and it became apparent to many activists that
larger networks or organizations were inevitable.
As activism and Left education grew in the colleges, students
moved from reactive organizing (calling for the discontinuance
of a damaging national or local policy, i.e. "Stop investing in
South Africa" or "Stop the War in Central America") to active po-
litical organizing (advocating a political philosophy or societal vi-
sion and methods for achieving that goal). Activists delved into
political philosophy and began discussing integrative views of
society, root causes of oppression, centralized mass organizing
versus decentralized collective organizing, the individual and so-
ciety, education and action, revolution or evolution, etc. One im-
portant lesson from the past twenty years was the oppressive na-
ture of hierarchies and the differences between no structure and
a decentralized, participatory structure. Lack of structure usually
translated into an unstated but active structure that could often
be just as hierarchical and oppressive as many stated structures.
When some advocates of decentralization became aware that
students were coalescing on a regional and national level, they
began organizing, through the planning of the National Student
Convention, for the formation of a decentralized, participatory
student network.
In the remaining months, organizers from both camps spent
too much time preparing and promoting their respective views
about the basic structure of the soon-not-to-be formed group. In
all the organizing hoopla, no one had done sufficient outreach to
various oppressed groups, notably people of color, and gays, les-
bians, and bisexuals. When these groups later declared the con-
vention illegitimate due to underrepresentation of the op-
pressed, they ended a fruitless structure debate and gave us all a
much needed taste of the present political reality.
On February 7, 1988, the Rutgers Convention resolved to
have the regions develop themselves and to reconvene for
another conference within a year. The Northeast organization
quickly grew out of the loose contacts that had already formed.
Two organizing conventions were held in March at Amherst and
in April at MIT, where the region named itself the Northeast Stu-
dent Action Network. Our desire outpaced our ability. We
wanted an information and action network that worked to
create a new society with direct action, participatory democracy,
creative ideas in organizing, and independent cooperative
methods of living. And we wanted it now. With all our ambitions,
those first two conferences were controlled pandemonium.
NSAN's third meeting, the Fall Gathering in Burlington on
Sept. 30 - Oct. 3, 1988, was strong evidence that the group had
put down its roots and would not fade away. Half of the gather-
ing was devoted to workshops on political action and radical edu-
cation. The remaining time was spent in caucus meetings and in
ratifying a comprehensive decentralized structure which gave
all the power and privileges to the autonomous chapters and the
oppressed caucuses (womyn, people of color, and lesbians, gays,
and bisexuals).
In parallel to this eighteen month history of networking and
conventions were many difficult and varied political struggles on
the Northeast campuses. Organizers were now moving beyond
the easily understood issues of Apartheid and divestment that
dominated 1985-86. They organized around racism on campus
and educational access for minorities; homelessness and universi-
ty development; war research and the interaction of the military
and the university; ending university support for the wars in
Central America; and ending CIA campus recruitment, to name
a few. During the same period, students fought against the igno-
rance and powerlessness of their generation by working on the
forty radical student papers that comprise the Network of the Al-
ternative Student Press, NSAN's sister press network.
Except for a few small summer meetings, the planning for the
National Student Convention was done in four pre-conference
meetings in October and November at MIT, in December at Rut-
gers, and in January at UMass Amherst. By the fall of 1987, the
word was out in activist circles about the conference. The orga-
nizers were ripe with anticipation, but a division was emerging
between the advocates of centralization and decentralization. At
the November meeting, the Rutgers students presented their
structure proposal, complete with president, vice-president, and
a first year organizing committee in which they would have pre-
dominant say in selecting the members, and thus directing the
politics. The shit hit the fan. Decentralization advocates quickly
began formulating proposals for a decentralized network struc-
ture.
The Boston Student Action Network is committed to the
ideas of restructuring the political, social, and economic system
in this country to be based upon the priorities of people rather
than the desire for profit. We believe that in order to bring about
these changes, it is necessary to empower individuals through
education, decision-making and action. Empowered individuals,
working in co-operation, are a self sustaining force for social
change. They create communities and institutions based on their
politics, and they maintain a level of educated self criticism to
keep their efforts true to their goals.
The decentralized network structure allows the chapters the
creative space to develop ideas about and methods for social
change. Frequent communications through newspaper ex-
change* telephone networking, biannual conferences, and plan-
ning meetings provide feedback and perspective. The sharing of
ideas inspires education and action while continuous criticism
and self-criticism maintains the political vision.
We have no illusion that the new society we are working to
create will be achieved in a short period of time. It may not even
be seen within our lifetime. The processes of empowerment and
developing our humanity are never ending despite the nature of
our external world. We therefore direct our efforts to the educa-
tion and empowerment of students and youth. We aim not mere-
ly to counterbalance the onslaught of propaganda lulling Ameri-
ca's youth into an anesthetized quest for high-tech, high-salaried
euphoria. We hope to form a youth culture that will critically
question the status quo and create the alternative communities
necessary to reestablish our society on the priorities of the peo-
ple.
Boston student Action Network
P.O.Box 1050. Camb ridge MA 02142
Feel free to call any of the outreach contacts listed here:
Steve
M.I.T.
253-1521 (w)
Michael
Brandeis
893-2373 (h)
J Barr
Mass. College of Art
787-7604 (h)
Nancy
Museum School
776-8682 (h)
Phil
Tufts University
983-0991 (h)
Anne D.
Wellesley College
239-9917 (h)
p@@K ^gwaiwl
The Imagination of the New Left
A Global Analysis of 1968
by George Katsiaficas
South End Press
1987,323 pages, $11.00
Amidst the perverse distortions of the sixties
peddled by corporate media, this book shines
like a beacon to the resurgent student movement
of the late eighties. It is easily the best book to
appear so far on those breathtaking years, and
even helps to redress imbalances found in many
radical accounts, for example the tendency to
focus excessively on the history of SDS to the
exclusion of literally hundreds of other move-
ment organizations, or the tendency to end “the
movement” in the summer of 1969 with the
demise of SDS, thus lopping off several years of
intense activity and especially the student strike
of May 1970. Also, Katsiaficas doesn’t dismiss
the increased militancy of the final years of the
movement as so much sectarian fanaticism, as
so many others have.
Katsiaficas builds his analysis on two case
studies: the French upheavals in May 68, and the
U.S. student strikes of May 70, following the
Cambodian invasion and the shootings at Kent
and Jackson State Colleges. These two in-depth
studies are accompanied by briefer surveys of
events the world over. Even for someone who
lived through those years (yours truly), this
book comes as a stunner. Although vaguely
aware of the protests surrounding the Olympics
in Mexico in 1968, I had no idea that 150,000
students were in the streets, that national strikes
were organized, or that over 400 people were
shot dead in one of the worst ever massacres of
students by police (October 2, 1968 - “The
Night of Sorrow”). Similarly, we all avidly
followed the events in France and Italy, and in
Czechoslovakia, and even Japan. But I don t
recall hearing much about protest movements in
Indonesia, Egypt, Argentina, Spain, or India.
And who would have thought that even during
the Cambodian crisis as many as 900 colleges
and universities were on strike in the U .S. by the
end of May involving four million students. The
sheer scope and size of the uprisings, in country
after country, as reported by Katsiaficas, is
simply overwhelming, and gives these events a
significance far beyond what is usually credited
to them.
Of equal relevance to current struggles is K’s
restatement of many of the themes of the New
Left. I will pass over the more accepted and
well-known themes here and call attention
instead to a large insight that has yet to come to
full bloom, namely the New Left s transcen-
dence of the bourgeois duality of subject/ object.
In the final chapter of his book, on “The Ration-
ality of the New Left,” Katsiaficas presents an
outstanding summary of the New Left’s critique
of so-called “value-free” social science, of gen-
eral systems theory, and of the materialism-
idealism duality in general. Parallel to this, and
as an integral part of it, was the New Left’s
critique of Marxism-Leninism (or “Soviet
Marxism” as Katsiaficas calls it) . There were of
course philosophical antecedents, in Gramsci,
Bloch, the Frankfurt School, French Hegelian
Marxism, and so forth. And of course many
concrete struggles in actuality are nondualistic.
But the New Left, or at least significant sectors
of it, gave an articulated response to the dualities
of scientism/spiritualism, leaders/followers,
authoritarianism/individualism, and objec-
tivism/subjectivism, and was perhaps the first
large scale social movement to do so to such an
extent.
Briefly put, many in the New Left realized
that there is no outside stance, that there is no
way for anyone to get outside their skins to say
what really is. Neither can anyone get outside
society, or outside history, or outside the uni-
verse. What we have then is agreement and
disagreement, not truth and error. There are of
course competing criteria to help us judge as
best we can what we should consider to be true,
but these schemes are themselves human inven-
tions. Thus, all knowledge is political. Those
who claim priority because of their “objectiv-
ity” and just pulling a fast one.
This challenge to the pretenders of objectivity
was a key theme of the New Left, along with a
focus on participatory democracy. Unfortu-
nately, these two themes have proceeded along
separate tracks. Even today, twenty years later,
the many excellent studies now appearing on
radical democratic theory (for a list see the July/
August, 1988 issue of What's Left) are almost
completely removed from the equally excellent
studies on radical epistemology. We can only
hope that in the near future these themes will
merge, and that a nondualistic theory of knowl-
edge will provide a solid foundation for a
strengthened radical democratic theory. (For
those who might be interested in pursuing this
line of studies I have appended a short bibliogra-
phy.)
If you are in the fight against the Culture of
Death, you will be strengthened by reading The
Imagination of the New Left , by George Kat-
siaficas. jj ^
(Two other outstanding books on the New Left
up until 1968 are: WiniBreines, Community and
Organization in the New Left, 1962-1968. The
Great Refusal. Praeger, 1982, 187 pages; and
James Miller, “Democracy is in the Streets
From Port Huron to the Siege of Chicago. Simon
& Schuster, 1987, 431 pages.)
Radical Epistemology
A Brief Reading List
1 . Schmidt, James, Maurice Merleau-Ponty:
Between Phenomenology and Structural-
ism, St. Martin’s Press, 1985, 214 pages.
2. Jonas, Hans, The Phenomenon of Life:
Toward a Philosophical Biology, (1966),
Chicago UP, 1982.
3. Heller, Agnes, On Instincts. 1979. Van
Gorcum, Assen, The Netherlands, 97
pages. See also her The Theory of Need in
Marx, 1974, Allison & Busby.
4. Jacoby, Russell, Dialectic of Defeat: Con-
tours of Western Marxism, Cambridge UP,
1981.
5. Schmidt, Alfred, The Concept of Nature in
Marx, (1962), New Left Books, 1971,251
pages.
6. Kosik, Karel, Dialectics of the Concrete: A
Study on the Problem of Man and World,
Reidel, English translation 1976.
7. Feyerabend, Paul, Science in a Free Soci-
ety, Verso, 1978, 221 pages.
8. Bernstein, Richard J. Beyond Objectivism
and Relativism: Science, Hermeneutics,
and Praxis, 1983, University of Pennsylva-
nia Press, 284 pp.
9. Bloch, Ernst, “Changing the World:
Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach,” pages 54-
104 in On Marx, Herder & Herder, 1971.
10. Korsch, Karl, Marxism and Philosophy,
Verso, 1923/30, English translation 1970.
1 1 . Gramsci, Antonio, “Critical Notes on an
Attempt at Popular Sociology,” pages 419-
472 in Prison Notebooks, International
Publishers, 1971.
12. Piccone, Paul, “Structuralist Marxism?”
in Radical America, Volume 3, No. 5,
1969, pp. 25-32.
TVfpO 1 through Dec 11 Infolvement: The Graphic Art of
A Antonio Frasconi curated by Patricia Hills,
Boston University Art Gallery, 855 Commonwealth Ave, Boston Info
353-4672
Nov 1 through Nov 30 The Bear in the Marketplace:
Anticommunism in Recent American Advertising. An exhibition by
Rick Bolton. At the MIT List Visual Arts Center/ Weisner Building, 20
Ames St, Cambridge. Gallery Hours: Weekdays, 12:00-6:00 pm,
Weekends, 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. Info: 253-4400
Nov 1 through Nov 30 Anticommunism in Hollywood and
Documentaries Film/speaker series, Carpenter Center, Harvard.
Nov 1 through Nov 30 Films From the Blacklist. Weekly film/speaker
series, Brattle Theater, Cambridge.
8:00pm - 9:30pm Hotel Workers Demand Affordable Housing. Com-
munity support meeting at Blessed Sacrament Church (Chevrus Hall,
behind the church) on 365 Centre St, Jamaica Plain. Domenic Bozzot-
to, President of local 26 HERE, and others will be there to present the
union's demands and explain how hotel management speculation is
driving up housing prices in Boston. Info: 524-3541
O 6:00 pm NOW Newsletter Planning Meeting, 971
* * " Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
7:00 pm Open House at the NOW offices. Learn what NOW is doing,
both locally and nationally, to fight for women's rights. Help organize
on important issues such as reproductive rights, the ERA, pay equity
and lesbian rights. The NOW issues forum will be held after the Open
House at 8:00 pm. At 971 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056.
7:00 pm Protest Ollie North's visit at Boston College. The Undergrad-
uate Student Organization invited North to speak on "Family and Pa-
triotism". Protest is organized by students, faculty and staff who are
outraged that $25,000 of student money has been given to him. They
will not be complicit in North's subversion of the constitution and
murderous Central American policies. Gather at BC's main campus at
Roberts Center on Beacon St. Info: 492-8699
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Man Against Sexual Assault, a volunteer
organization working closely with the Boston area rape crisis center
to stop rape and sexual violence, sponsors a discussion group for men,
At MTT building E51, room 218.
Every Wednesday 7:30 pm Mass Act Out meets at MIT, Building 66,
Room 126. Information: 661-7737
Every Wednesday & Saturday Boston Area Women's Self-Defense
Collective is offering ongoing classes in self defense to women of all
ages and abilities. Learn simple & effective techniques for home &
street safety. Information: 574-9433
8.00 pm From Nationalism to Internationalism a talkby David Welch,
Coordinator for the Harvard University Project on Avoiding Nuclear
War. At 3 Church St., Harvard Sq., Cambridge. Free. Info: 876-9644
8:00-10:00 pm Feminist Discussion Group: Many Kinds of Feminist
Separatism. At the Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge.
354-8807 (TTY/Voice) ^
7:30 pm Talk and poetry reading with Ernesto Cardenal with Jeanne
Gallo, Sister of Notre Dame and Human Rights Activist. This will be
the major speaking engagement of Ernesto Cardenal's visit to Boston.
At MIT Building 26 room 100, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Info: CASA at
492-8699.
TTlIITQ ^ 12:00 noon The Politics of Culture: talk at
A ■“ ^ ^ Northeastern University with Ernesto
Cardenal. Call CASA at 492-8699 for details.
Reception for Ernesto Cardenal. To receive an invitation, call CASA at
492-8699
5:15 pm The Candidates and Parties: What Difference Will it Make? a
forum at the Kennedy Library with a summarizing debate between
representatives of the Bush and Dukakis campaigns. Free. Call
929-4571 for reservations (required).
NOVEMBER
I certainly wasn't seeking any
degree, the way a college confers a
status symbol upon its students. My
homemade education gave me, with
every additional book that I read, a
little bit more sensitivity to the
deafness, dumbness, and blindness
that was afflicting the black race in
America. Not long ago, an English
writer telephoned me from London,
asking questions. One was, " What's
your alma mater?" I told him,
"Books."
-Malcolm X
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Ruth Hubbard and Margaret Randall celebrate their
first-ever-in-print collaboration, The Shape of Red: Insider, (Outsider
Reflections. The reading is free and open to the public and refreshments
will be served. At New Words, 186 Hampshire St, Cambridge. Info:
876-5310
Every Sunday at 7:30 pm Ongoing Healing Group for People with
AIDS, those affected by AIDS and other life-threatening diseases & all
those wishing to be of support. At Metro Healing, Metropolitan
Health Club Aerobics Room, 209 Columbus Ave, Boston. Donations
Accepted. Information: Brian (267-1154) or Joseph (357-6926)
8:00 pm Dirty Work: the CIA in Central America and the World: Ford
Hall Forum speech by Philip Agee. At Northeastern University. Info:
437-5800
lV/f PI p| *7 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Get Out the Vote phone bank
"■ * at NOW offices, 971 Commonwealth Ave, Bos-
ton. Info: 782-1056
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm What If They Gave a War and No-one Paid? Learn
how you can join with other non-payers and stop putting your tax
dollars into war, weapons, and intervention. At the Community
Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St, 3 rd floor. Info: 731-6139^
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm Lesbian Rap: Lesbian Sex. Free. At the Women's
Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 (TTY/voice).^
TA Q through Nov 20 American-Soviet women in
* * ^ ^ Politics is the theme of a tour sponsored by the
League of Women Voters and the Organization of American-Soviet
exchanges. Call 864-7717 or write them at 151 Coolidge Ave, Suite 609,
Watertown 02172 for details on time, date, and place of events.
4:00 pm Margarita Dalton ethnohistorian and special advisor to the
Governor at Oaxaca, Mexico on women and development will speak
on Women's Political Organizing and the State in Mexico: The Case
of Oaxaca. Prof. Dalton's recent work has focused on how health, edu-
cation and nutrition is affecting rural indigenous peasant women in
Mexico. She has also participated in network building between wom-
en in neighborhood organizations, indigenous women's groups and
urban feminist groups. At MIT room E38-615, 272 Main St, Cambridge.
7:00 pm Alexander Cockburn will speak and sign copies of Corrup-
tions of F.mnirp. Free Refreshments will he servpH At tho Han/afH
Malcolm X
8:00pm - midnight Trying on Another Woman's Ski n: Poetry & Story-
telling by Stacie Marinelli. Free. At the Women's Coffeehouse, Wom-
en's Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
8:00 pm Boston Theater Group and Row Twelve celebrate American
Music Week with a performance of Companions of the Flame, a con-
cert of American poetry and music. Tickets: $8, $5 for students, seniors
and supporting members of the Boston Theater Group. At the Church
of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St, Boston. Info: 288-3085
8:00 pm Concert with Betsy Rose: Songs of the Earth and Spirit. $8 in
advance, $10 at door. Reserve tickets by calling 926-0315 or 646-4662.
Tix available at New Words, Unicorn, and Skylight bookstores. At Old
Cambridge Baptist Church, 1151 Mass Ave, Cambridge.
Sat 12 Talk by Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemalan Indian
leader and author. Call CASA at 492-8699 for time
& place.
9:00 am - 4:00 pm Preparing Our Economy for Peace: the Genuine
n Uo-jHKv PrnHnrtivo Matinn A wnrlrina mnfprpnrp nn
^A7/3fl *1 fx 7:00 P m P a ss federal and state
" ^ ^ ^ legislation to prohibit discrimination on the
basis of sexual preference. Support lesbian and gay rights in foster
parenting, housing and employment at NOW's Lesbian rights task
force meeting. At 971 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
8:00-10:00 pm Feminist Discussion Group: Sisterhood: Lesbians &
Straight Women. Free. At the Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cam-
bridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
Thurs 17 Oxfam America's Fast for a World Har-
vest. For information, call Oxfam at
482-1211
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Phone Bank at NOW offices, 971 Commonwealth
Ave, Boston, 782-1056
5:00 pm Local 26 Hotel & Restaurant Workers Strike Rally. All sup-
porters welcome. At the Arlington St. Church. Info: 423-3335
6:30 pm Symposium on Nationalism and Latin Americanism with
Pedro Alcantra, Columbian painter, senator and human rights activist,
Marta Lamas, mexican writer and feminist activist, Luis Felipe Noe,
Argentinian painter, Wilfredo Chiesa, Puerto Rican painter. Part of
Latin America Awakened series. Free. At the Tower Auditorium, Mass
College of Art, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston. Info: 232-1555x484
7:00 pm Black Women Writers: texts and critics. Lecture by Nellie
McKay, professor of Afro-American studies at the University of
Wisconsin on "Toni Morrison and her Critics". At MIT room 66-110, 25
Ames St. (between Memorial Dr. and Main St.), Cambridge. Info:
253-8844.
9:00 pm Concert with Jorge Arce and Humano music from through-
out Latin America. Part of the Latin America Awakened series. Free. At
the Mass. College of Art, 621 Huntington Ave, Tower Auditorium. Info
232-1555x484
1 Q 7:00 pm Woman Cry and Beyond Today were made
A KJ by Miriam Patsanza, the first Black woman to run a
video production house in Zimbabwe. Both works investigate the
hardships faced by disenfranchised groups in that country-disabled
women in the former and unemployed youth in the latter-and ex-
amine government efforts to establish programs for these groups. Mi-
riam Patsanza, will be present to discuss her work. At MIT room 34-101,
50 Vassar St, Cambridge.
8:00 pm The Case for Drug Legalization: a talk by Lester Grinspoon.
Black Rose Lecture Series. Free. At MIT room 9-150, 77 Mass Ave,
Cambridge. Info: 524-0781
8:00pm - midnight Music & Poetry with Helen Kohane & Karon
Friedland on the themes of Women, Earth & Creativity. Free. At the
Women's Coffeehouse, Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St., Cambridge.
Info: 354-8807 ^
Sat 19 to December 17 Harvest Brigades to Nicaragua.
Join other North Americans who travel to Nicara-
gua as members of international work brigades to help with coffee
and cotton harvests as well as other projects. For information and
applications call Carl at 868-5219 or Amy at 776-5302.
10:45 am Boston Bisexual Women's/Men's Network Monthly Dim
Sum Brunch. Meet under the arch in Chinatown. Average cost
$6-$8/person. Men/women welcome. Info: 247-6683
6:00 pm A Case Forgotten: Miriam Lopez Perez. La Plaza on Channel
2. In Massachusetts, every 22 days, a woman is murdered by her
husband or boyfriend. This special report examines problems of law
enforcement through the case of a 32 year old woman murdered last
year in the South End.
Ori Noon-5:00 Mass Freeze/ Sane freeze annual
^ M-J- L £d\J sta |. e conference Framingham State College
Center. 491-7809.
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm An afternoon to mark the publication of a
remarkable new anthology of writing by women in the trades: Hard
Hatted Women: Stories of Struggle and Success in the Trades. Join
7:30 pm Talk and poetry reading with Ernesto Cardenal with Jeanne
Gallo, Sister of Notre Dame and Human Rights Activist. This will be
the major speaking engagement of Ernesto Cardenal's visit to Boston.
At MIT Building 26 room 100, 77 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Info: CASA at
492-8699.
Thurs 3
12:00 noon The Politics of Culture: talk at
Northeastern University with Ernesto
Cardenal. Call CASA at 492-8699 for details.
Reception for Ernesto Cardenal. To receive an invitation, call CASA at
492-8699
5:15 pm The Candidates and Parties: What Difference Will it Make? a
forum at the Kennedy Library with a summarizing debate between
representatives of the Bush and Dukakis campaigns. Free. Call
929-4571 for reservations (required).
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Phone Bank at Now Offices, 971 Commonwealth
Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
6:30 pm Symposium on Vision, Myth and Power wiht Ernesto
Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet and minister of culture, Julio Ortega,
Peruvian author, Alfredo Jaar, Chilean visual artist, Alan West, Cuban
poet and political activist. Part of the Latin America Awakened series.
Free At the Mass College of Art, 621 Huntington Ave, Tower
Auditorium. Info: 232-1555x484
7:00 pm Boston Gay/Lesbian Pride Committee meets in Room 801 of
Boston City Hall. Information: Matthew Hayes at 232-1716
8:00 pm Eleanor Smeal will speak on The Campus Feminization of
Power at Tufts University, Medford. Call Tufts for more information.
8:30 pm-10:00 pm Discussion Group for non-offending male sexual
abuse victims. At the Conference Room at the Cambridge Chamber
of Commerce, 859 Mass. Ave, Cambridge. Free. Sponsored by New
Directions for Men, 498-9881.
/t 7:30 pm The Palestinian Struggle for Human Rights: a
Ford Hall Forum speech by Mubarak Awad. At Faneuil
Hall. Info: 437-5800
8:00pm - 12:00 midnight New-to-town Catie Curtis performing
original & popular Women's Music. Free. At the Women's
Coffeehouse, Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St., Cambridge. 354-8807 ^
10:20 pm Mandate From Main Street:: a look at Nuclear Arms Control.
On WTBS, cable television. An hour-long documentary film on nu-
clear arms control. Views of a group of average people in response to
interviews of experts.
C C Every Saturday at 10:30 am Living With AIDS
^ Cl L ^ Theatre Project: a workshop to collect the experiences
and stories of those connected with the AIDS crisis. At Club Cabaret,
209 Columbus Ave, Boston.
8:00 pm Dance Party to raise money for Centro Presente featuring
Marry Marshall and the Rocking Robins and super DJ extravaganza
with Salsa and Merengue. $10 in advance, $12 at the door. At the St.
Mary's Church, Norfolk St., Cambridge. Info & tickets: Centro Pres-
ente, 54 Essex St., Cambridge, Ma 02139. 497-9080
9:00 pm -2:00 am 3 rd Annual Halloween Dance Party/Benefit for Gay
Community News and Nicaragua Material Aid. Sponsored by the
United Fruit Company and Red Shades affinity groups. Tickets: $6.00
in advance from GCN, CASA, Redbook, Cambridge Food Co-op,
New Words, Glad Day & affinity group members, $10.00 at the door.
Live DJ, Cash Bar, Creative dress encouraged. Villa Victoria Cultural
Center, 85 West Newton St, South End., Info: 426-4469
^ ^ ^ S' 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm A Children's Concert for Peace
LIA l U musicians, puppeteers, shool groups and
singers. It will include art and dance workshops geared to children
3-10 years of age. There will be an exhibit of children's books about
peace, and literature from peace groups. $1 for kids, $2 for adults. At
the Jamaica Plain Multicultural Arts Center. Info: 522-0322
" ™ ^ ^ Politics is the theme of a tour sponsored by the
League of Women Voters and the Organization of American-Soviet
exchanges. Call 864-7717 or write them at 151 Coolidge Ave, Suite 609,
Watertown 02172 for details on time, date, and place of events.
4:00 pm Margarita Dalton ethnohistorian and special advisor to the
Governor at Oaxaca, Mexico on women and development will speak
on Women's Political Organizing and the State in Mexico: The Case
of Oaxaca. Prof. Dalton's recent work has focused on how health, edu-
cation and nutrition is affecting rural indigenous peasant women in
Mexico. She has also participated in network building between wom-
en in neighborhood organizations, indigenous women's groups and
urban feminist groups. At MIT room E38-615, 272 Main St, Cambridge.
8:00 pm Boston Theater Group and Row Twelve celebrate American
Music Week with a performance of Companions of the Flame, a con-
cert of American poetry and music. Tickets: $8, $5 for students, seniors
and supporting members of the Boston Theater Group. At the Church
of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St, Boston. Info: 288-3085
8:00 pm Concert with Betsy Rose: Songs of the Earth and Spirit. $8 in
advance, $10 at door. Reserve tickets by calling 926-0315 or 646-4662.
Tix available at New Words, Unicorn, and Skylight bookstores. At Old
Cambridge Baptist Church, 1151 Mass Ave, Cambridge.
C ^ J- 1 O Talk by Rigoberta Menchu, Guatemalan Indian
^ ^ ^ leader and author. Call CASA at 492-8699 for time
& place.
7:00 pm Alexander Cockburn will speak and sign copies of Corrup-
tions of Empire. Free. Refreshments will be served. At the Harvard
Bookstore, 1256 Mass Ave., Cambridge. Info: 661-1515
7:15 pm Meeting of Bi-CEP (Bisexual Committee Engaging in Poli-
tics). Planning meeting for BiCEP's projects to increase Bi-awareness
and visibility. Boylston Hall, Room 2B, Harvard Yard. Info: 734-9348
8:00-10:00 pm Feminist Discussion Group: Racism and the Feminist
Movement. At the Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St., Cambridge. Info:
354-8807 l
8:00 pm Nonprovocative Defenses to Avoid War a talk by Randall
Forsberg, Director, Institute for Defense and Disarmament Studies. At
3 Church St, Harvard Sq, Cambridge. Free. Info: 876-9644.
Thurs 10
11:30 am Culture and Independence in
Puerto Rico: Luis Rafael Sanchez, Puerto
Rican Writer; Juan Sanchez, Puerto Rican Painter, Martin Espada,
Puerto Rican poet. Symposium is part of the Latin America Awakened
series. Free. In the Roxbury Community College auditorium, 1234
Columbus Ave, Boston. Info: 232-1555x484
7:00 pm Defend access to legal abortion and birth control and work
on other reproductive rights issues. NOW reproductive rights task
force meeting. At 971 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
Fri 11
through Nov 13 What Is A Communist? Video
survey and installation, Science Center, Harvard.
November 11 through November 13. Anticommunism and the U.S:
history and consequences, an international conference. Confirmed
speakers include: Philip Agee, Julian Bond, Noam Chomsky, Alexander
Cockburn, Blanche W. Cook, Emile de Antonio, Daniel Ellsberg,
Edward S. Herman, Michael Parenti, Edward Said. Starts 3:00 pm
Friday to 3:00 pm Sunday. Space is limited and places will be allocated
on first come, first served basis. At the Harvard University Science
Center and Memorial Hall. Registration: $75 regular, $35 student.
Sponsored by the Institute for Media Analysis. Info: John Demeter, PO.
Box 2867, Cambridge 02238, Tel# 522-3553
Humanitarian Aid Day for the children of Nicaragua. Part of the Let
Nicaragua Live campaign and Oats for Peace. Info & details: CASA at
492-8699
7:00 pm The Passion of Remembrance by the Black British film work-
shop, Sankofa, combines narrative structure, documentary footage,
and experimental sequences to examine the complexities of the Black
experience of family, sexuality and politics in Britain today. Film critic
Coco Fusco, who has written extensively on England's Black work-
shops, will introduce the evening. At MIT, Bartos Theatre, Wiesner
Building, 20 Ames St, Cambridge.
8:00 pm The Boston Student Action Network will speak on The Rise
of the Contemporary Radical Student Movement. Black Rose
Lecture Series. Free. At room 66-110 MIT, 25 Ames St. Cambridge. Info:
524-0781
9:00 am - 4:00 pm Preparing Our Economy for Peace: the Genuine
Security of a Healthy, Productive Nation. A working conference on
peace and economic issues. Sheraton Hotel, Boston. Pre-registration
encouraged. $10 ($5 for students & seniors). Send money to
PSR/Greater Boston, 19 Garden St, Cambridge. Info: 497-7440
7:30 pm Aids Research: Competition or Collaboration: a talk by Dr.
Donald Forsdyke. Free. At Boylston Hall, Harvard University.
Sponsored by Education for Action and Aids Educational Outreach.
Info: 498-6220
*1 *5 11 :30 am -5:00 pm Pay Equity and Public Speak-
^ W~l l i n g Training Workshop sponsored by Coalition
for Pay Equity. Free. Registration, coffee & donuts at 11:00 am. Inten-
sive educational day featuring Carol Doherty, Ronnie Steinberg vid-
eo, Roz Feldberg, and Meizhu Lui. Call 426-9734 for location of work-
shop and to reserve child care.
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Come celebrate Leslie Newman's latest books A
Letter to Harvey Milk and Love Me Like You Mean It. The reading is free
and open to all. Refreshments served. At New Words, 186 Hampshire
St, Cambridge. Info: 876-5310
4:00 pm An Afternoon In Solidarity With the Struggles of Native
People, speakers: Wamsutta Frank James, Wamponoag Elder and
Moderator of United American Indians of the North East (UAINE),
Bob Gustafson, Mohawk Nation, UAINE member, traditional singing
by New England Inter-Tribal Singers. Donation requested At the Bos-
ton Community Church, 565 Boylston Street, Childcare by reserva-
tion, Sponsored by the All Peoples' Congress. Info: 424-1176^
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm Unknown Secrets: Art and the Rosenberg Era.
Special preview, Nov 13, Exhibit runs Nov 16-Dec 23. Exhibition
Directed by Rob Okun, curated by Nina Felshin. Work by Sue Coe, Peg
Averill, Pablo Picasso, Steve Cagan, Rockwell Kent, Martha Rosell, and
many more. At the North Gallery, Mass College of Art, 671
Huntington St, Boston.
6:00 pm Newoman Potluck. Movie/Video: "Crimes of the Heart" 8:00
pm. Free. All new and not so new women welcome. At the Women's
Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. 354-8807 t
7:30 pm Current Perspectives on the American Left: talk by Richard
Flacks, author, founder of SDS, professor at UC Santa Barbara. Spon-
sored by the Institute for Democratic Socialism at the Workman's
Circle, 1762 Beacon St, Brookline. Free. Potluck dinner at 6:00 pm. Info:
DSA at 426-9026
8:00-10.00 pm Lesbian Rap: Internalized Ho-
-1* * -ALIA A mophobia. Free. At the Women's Center, 46
Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
' | ||pn C 7:00 pm Campus Mobilization Meeting at
** ^ A NOW offices, 971 Commonwealth Ave, Bos-
ton. Info: 782-1056
WIIAT’8 LCrT IN BOSTON
10:45 am Boston Bisexual Women's/Men's Network Monthly Dim
Sum Brunch. Meet under the arch in Chinatown. Average cost
$6-$8/person. Men/women welcome. Info: 247-6683
6:00 pm A Case Forgotten: Miriam Lopez Perez. La Plaza on Channel
2. In Massachusetts, every 22 days, a woman is murdered by her
husband or boyfriend. This special report examines problems of law
enforcement through the case of a 32 year old woman murdered last
year in the South End.
Sun 20
Center. 491-7809.
Noon-5:00 Mass Freeze/ Sane freeze annual
state conference Framingham State College
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm An afternoon to mark the publication of a
remarkable new anthology of writing by women in the trades: Hard
Hatted Women: Stories of Struggle and Success in the Trades. Join
editor Molly Maryin and local contributors for this celebration. At
New Words, 186 Hampshire St, Cambridge. Info: 876-5310
8:00 pm Flor de Cana Album Release Concert. Flor de Cana
announces the release of its first album, Muevete (move it!) on Flying
Fish records. Dance and celebrate with the band and special surprise
guests who collaborated on the album. The event will consist of a
folk/listening set and a second set of dance music. Admission: $9.50 in
advance, $11 at the door. At the Villa Victoria Cultural Center, 85 West
Newton St, Boston. Info: 497-6316
O'! 4:30-6:00 pm Alternative Philanthropies &
Social Change Forum led by Robert Both-
well. Executive Director, National Committee for Responsive Philan-
thropy and Renae D. Scott, Fundraiser/Activist with Haymarket Peo-
ple's Fund, Boston Women's Fund, and Resist. Free. At the Alumae
Lounge, 52 Talbot Ave., Tufts University, Medford. Info: 628-5000x2468
7:00 pm Fight wage discrimination based on sex and race. Use
legislation and public education to support pay equity, the
up-to-poverty campaign and parental leave. Boston NOW's equity
taskforce meeting. At 971 Commonwealth Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
8:00-10:00 pm Lesbian Rap: Recovering From Rape. At the Women's
Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
TA7A/4 0*2 8:00-10:00 pm Feminist Discussion Group:
w V KZ vA Motherhood: Should We Do It? Free. At the
Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm Phone Bank at NOW offices, 971 Commonwealth
Ave, Boston. Info: 782-1056
7:30 pm Progressive Native American Lesbian
H Poet, Crystos, author of Not Vanishing will give
a reading at the Red Book Store, 92 Green Street, Jamaica Plain.
Info: 522-9435 Or 522-1464.
1V/A CiYl J Q 7:30 pm Boston Bisexual Women's Network
Volunteer Night. Join us to meet new people,
stuff newsletters, talk, do BBWN projects and business. All women
welcome. Info: 247-6683
8:00-10:00 pm Lesbian Rap: Lesbians and Friendships. Free. At the
Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St, Cambridge. Info: 354-8807^
TA7|3 ft afl 8:00-10:00 pm Feminist Discussion Group:
J ▼ Ltl ^J\J Transcending Oppression with Sonia
Johnson: Who Can Do it?. Free. At the Women's Center, 46 Pleasant St,
Cambridge. Info: 354-8807 ^
Listings Deadline for November is
Tuesday, November 15
Send to: What's Left in Boston
92 Green Street,
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
Or telephone: 522-9671
0£lZ0 s^smpessm u T^Id
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