Cindy Sheehan to Speak at Tent State University at UMass

[Bill McBlueState]

Noted anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan will be in the Pioneer Valley on Tuesday, April 18th to speak in conjunction with the first-ever Tent State University on the campus of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Cindy Sheehan is an internationally known mom and peace & social justice advocate whose son, Army Specialist Casey A. Sheehan, was killed in action in Sadr City, Baghdad, on April 4, 2004. Cindy Sheehan is founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, an organization of Americans who have had loved ones killed in wars.

Cindy's speech, which will in part address the ongoing war in Iraq and the connection between military spending and the lack of funding for public higher education, will be held at the main Tent State University tent on the Student Union Lawn at UMass and will begin at 8:00 pm. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this free event.

Immediately preceding Cindy at 7:30 pm will be a speech by Preston Smith, the co-chair of the Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute's Free Higher Education Campaign, who will talk about the current economic realities of public higher education and how we can work towards creating a system that is completely open and accessible to everyone.

Tent State University (TSU) is a week-long, outdoor university shaped by students, workers, and community members being held on the UMass-Amherst campus from April 17-21. TSU calls for equal access to education and it creates an example of what a university should be: a democratically controlled public space that brings together diverse groups to exchange ideas, art, and culture. For more information and a complete listing of the week's events, please go to www.tentstateumass.org.

[Bill McBlueState]

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