Press Release from Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front
YLFPNW@Protonmail.com
#StudentStrike2019 press release
On January 20th students and youth across the nation will engage in various forms of civil disobedience and direct action against the rise of hatred, fascism and inequality in our government, in our presidential administration, in our police forces and in our school systems. We are calling on all students, student organizations, anti racist and anti fascist organizations and any youth who want to stand up to hatred to autonomously organize #StudentStrike2019 actions in your city in solidarity with the following demands:
1. Reforming our current education system into a system that educates based on students needs and interests (ex. Abolish Common Core, require finance classes and classes that encourage mental health management).
2. Ending police militarization in schools (ex. Remove SROs from schools)
3. Implementing higher taxes for the ruling class, in order to fund low income schools/neighborhoods.
4. Implementing free tuition for all public colleges, ending a lifelong cycle of debt slavery.
5. Taking serious steps to end the drastic rise of school shooting and gun
violence in schools (ex. Implement harder steps to get licenses and
firearms, raise the minimum age of firearm licenses).
6. Pay teachers FAIR wages for the hard work they put in educating future generations.
7. Abolishing the electoral college and giving real voting rights to all future voters.
8. Immediately improve to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women. Along with complying with the Prison strike 2018.
We also encourage local chapters of the YLF to draft their own strike demands
individualized to each school within their chapter, (i.e. increased teacher diversity, free lunch for all students, etc). However it is encouraged that all strikes include the original demands of the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front. If these listed demands are not met by May 1st, 2019 (5/1/19), there will be mass acts of civil disobedience, students will strike, and we will stage walkouts and marches across the nation until our demands are met and our voices are heard by those who control our government.
We are the next generation, we should have far more say in our own future and our voices need to be heard!
How to organize your own chapter and action:
For starters, contact us at pnwylf@protonmail.com and/or on social media @PNWYLF, for information on all of our ideals and demands.
Contact your peers, get organized.
Know that this is an autonomous student/youth led direct action with no rulers or superiors. We encourage all members to contact local students, friends, and allies from different schools; and involve other schools in our movement.
Have a social media presence. Anything from having an active Twitter/Facebook, to maintaining a site for local info on protests, direct actions, etc.
Create online events on Facebook and other sites for the #StudentStrike2019, as well as posting flyers in your local area.
St. Paul Principles:
We use the “Saint Paul Principles” as a means of internal organization. The principles are designed to keep PNWYLF chapters unified against forces that may work against us (the state, reactionaries, etc). They also serve to prevent fracturing within our group, and to maintain solidarity, unity, and collaboration between local chapters of our organization. The principles are as follow:
1. our solidarity will be based on respect for a diversity of tactics and the plans of other groups.
2. the actions and tactics used will be organized to maintain a separation of time or space.
3. any debates or criticisms will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any
public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events.
4. we oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance,
infiltration, disruption and violence. we agree not to assist law enforcement actions against activists and others.