[Mitai-announce] Fwd: Dow Chemical Rep coming to MIT

[Jasmine Park]

>
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I understand that Dow Chemical rep Susan Butts is going to be  
> coming to
> MIT on February 1st. One of the most powerful things that students can
> do to make sure that Dow faces its responsibilities in Bhopal is to
> remind them that Bhopal is an important issue whenever Dow Chemical
> visits campus.
>
>
>
> Registration kindly requested for panel and reception by January  
> 31. If
> you are unable to register by January 31, you are welcome to attend
> without registering and will not be turned away.
>
> MISTI - European Commission Panel Discussion
> The Global Knowledge Economy:
> Challenges and opportunities for EU and US
> research-intensive universities and their relation with industry
> February 1, 2008 from 3:30 to 6:15pm
> MIT Tang Center <http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?mapterms=e51> , Wong
> Auditorium
>
>
>
> Dow may be doing interviews with folks even though they are not
> sponsoring the fair, if someone can register for the fair, find  
> that Dow
> is in fact doing interviews - please sign up and give them some  
> serious
> things to think about. (and of course let us know!)
>
>
>
> The goal of targeting this event is to make sure that Dow Chemical
> representatives know that MIT students do not want to be affiliated  
> with
> a corporation responsible for the deaths of 23,000 people and  
> absconding
> from court - whomever represents Dow will carry that message back  
> to the
> company. The goal is not to dialogue with the company or the
> representative from Dow although you are of course always welcome to
> try. The company must dialogue with the survivors and so far it has  
> been
> 100% unwilling to do so.
>
> It's a matter of building enough public pressure and public shame  
> on Dow
> as a whole to force them to address their responsibilities in Bhopal.
> It's the power that the MIT student body has to shame Dow, just like 7
> Indian Institutes of Technology did last fall - that will ultimately
> force Dow to do the right thing.
>
>
>
> What you can do:
> 1) Chalking - is very effective way to make sure the Dow  
> representative
> sees there is opposition to their corporate practice visually and
> doesn't require the chalker to be present during the event.
>
> 2) Handing out flyers (see attached flyers as samples) - outside the
> building or event, be sure to dress professionally and smile at people
> walking in.
>
> 3) Register for the event (or not) and pass around flyers inside the
> event.
>
> 4) Ask questions inside the event (see attached list of questions for
> ideas) - Do make sure you anticipate in your question how Dow is going
> to try to cover up the truth, make you look uninformed etc. It  
> helps to
> have the amnesty report <http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/ 
> bhopal.pdf>
> or a news article with you that you can cite and show to people to  
> back
> what you are saying.
>
> 5) Hold a protest outside the event with signs explaining your  
> concerns.
>
>
>
> One or a combination of these things will make a difference. If we did
> all of these things it would make a HUGE IMPACT on the company, which
> has already has faced a lot of opposition to recruiting students at  
> MIT
> without informing them of the companies poisonous practices leading to
> the deaths and maiming of children not just in Bhopal but in many  
> places
> around the world.
>
>
>
> You can read accounts of other efforts to Target Dow at MIT and other
> schools here:
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DontWorkforDow.htm#MIT
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DontWorkforDow.htm#Indiana
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DowVietnam.htm - See the history of
> Student activism that effectively forced Dow to stop making Napalm in
> the late '60s.
>
>
>
> Feel free to call me about this if you'd like to brainstorm what you'd
> like to ask 617-378-2579 (I'll be 3 hours ahead on west coast time)
>
>
>
>
>
> An email from Ryan Bodanyi of the Bhopal campaign on targeting  
> Board of
> Director members, just to give more background:
>
>
>
> I'm writing today because you're all within (or near
>
>>> to) the state of Connecticut, where we just discovered that Dow
> Board
>
>>> Member Jackie Barton is due to speak next week at Wesleyan College
> (more
>
>>> details below). Some of you are closer than others, and I understand
> that
>
>>> most of you are busy (aren't we all?) and may not be able to make
> it. But
>
>>> I wanted to ask if any of you might be available to help us organize
> a
>
>>> protest against her visit. From experience, I can tell you that
> numbers
>
>>> aren't particularly important (though the more the better,
> obviously) -
>
>>> Dow Board members REALLY don't like to deal with Bhopal, and whether
> it's
>
>>> a simple question from the audience or a small group of people with
> signs
>
> and placards, it really gets under their skin. You can read more about
>
> our history of confronting the Dow Board
>
> at  http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/BoardOfDirectors.htm, and if you
>
> have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. But if you think you
> might be available to go, or if you can help us organize at least a  
> few
>
> people, let me know - it would be a HUGE help.
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks so much!
>
>  All good things,
>
>   RB is ME
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
> Please approve for MIT exec. Aquene
>
>
>
> Hello all,
>
>
>
> I understand that Dow Chemical rep Susan Butts is going to be  
> coming to MIT on February 1st. One of the most powerful things that  
> students can do to make sure that Dow faces its responsibilities in  
> Bhopal is to remind them that Bhopal is an important issue whenever  
> Dow Chemical visits campus.
>
>
>
> Registration kindly requested for panel and reception by January  
> 31. If you are unable to register by January 31, you are welcome to  
> attend without registering and will not be turned away.
>
> MISTI - European Commission Panel Discussion
> The Global Knowledge Economy:
> Challenges and opportunities for EU and US
> research-intensive universities and their relation with industry
> February 1, 2008 from 3:30 to 6:15pm
> MIT Tang Center, Wong Auditorium
>
>
>
> Dow may be doing interviews with folks even though they are not  
> sponsoring the fair, if someone can register for the fair, find  
> that Dow is in fact doing interviews – please sign up and give  
> them some serious things to think about. (and of course let us know!)
>
>
>
> The goal of targeting this event is to make sure that Dow Chemical  
> representatives know that MIT students do not want to be affiliated  
> with a corporation responsible for the deaths of 23,000 people and  
> absconding from court - whomever represents Dow will carry that  
> message back to the company. The goal is not to dialogue with the  
> company or the representative from Dow although you are of course  
> always welcome to try. The company must dialogue with the survivors  
> and so far it has been 100% unwilling to do so.
>
> It's a matter of building enough public pressure and public shame  
> on Dow as a whole to force them to address their responsibilities  
> in Bhopal. It’s the power that the MIT student body has to shame  
> Dow, just like 7 Indian Institutes of Technology did last fall -  
> that will ultimately force Dow to do the right thing.
>
>
>
> What you can do:
> 1) Chalking - is very effective way to make sure the Dow  
> representative sees there is opposition to their corporate practice  
> visually and doesn't require the chalker to be present during the  
> event.
>
> 2) Handing out flyers (see attached flyers as samples) - outside  
> the building or event, be sure to dress professionally and smile at  
> people walking in.
>
> 3) Register for the event (or not) and pass around flyers inside  
> the event.
>
> 4) Ask questions inside the event (see attached list of questions  
> for ideas) - Do make sure you anticipate in your question how Dow  
> is going to try to cover up the truth, make you look uninformed  
> etc. It helps to have the amnesty report or a news article with you  
> that you can cite and show to people to back what you are saying.
>
> 5) Hold a protest outside the event with signs explaining your  
> concerns.
>
>
>
> One or a combination of these things will make a difference. If we  
> did all of these things it would make a HUGE IMPACT on the company,  
> which has already has faced a lot of opposition to recruiting  
> students at MIT without informing them of the companies poisonous  
> practices leading to the deaths and maiming of children not just in  
> Bhopal but in many places around the world.
>
>
>
> You can read accounts of other efforts to Target Dow at MIT and  
> other schools here:
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DontWorkforDow.htm#MIT
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DontWorkforDow.htm#Indiana
>
> http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/DowVietnam.htm - See the history  
> of Student activism that effectively forced Dow to stop making  
> Napalm in the late '60s.
>
>
>
> Feel free to call me about this if you’d like to brainstorm what  
> you’d like to ask 617-378-2579 (I’ll be 3 hours ahead on west  
> coast time)
>
>
>
>
>
> An email from Ryan Bodanyi of the Bhopal campaign on targeting  
> Board of Director members, just to give more background:
>
>
>
> I'm writing today because you're all within (or near
>
> > > to) the state of Connecticut, where we just discovered that Dow  
> Board
>
> > > Member Jackie Barton is due to speak next week at Wesleyan  
> College (more
>
> > > details below). Some of you are closer than others, and I  
> understand that
>
> > > most of you are busy (aren't we all?) and may not be able to  
> make it. But
>
> > > I wanted to ask if any of you might be available to help us  
> organize a
>
> > > protest against her visit. From experience, I can tell you that  
> numbers
>
> > > aren't particularly important (though the more the better,  
> obviously) -
>
> > > Dow Board members REALLY don't like to deal with Bhopal, and  
> whether it's
>
> > > a simple question from the audience or a small group of people  
> with signs
>
> and placards, it really gets under their skin. You can read more about
>
> our history of confronting the Dow Board
>
> at  http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/BoardOfDirectors.htm, and if you
>
> have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. But if you think  
> you might be available to go, or if you can help us organize at  
> least a few
>
> people, let me know - it would be a HUGE help.
>
>
>
>
>
> Thanks so much!
>
>  All good things,
>
>   RB is ME
>
>
>