California State University Sacramento - Statesman Yearbook (Sacramento, CA)

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Profile by M.C. Pinkstaff Staff Writer It appears there’s one thing Paul New- man and Barbra Streisand don’t share with many CSUS students. It is their hope for a bi-lateral disarmament agree- ment. Ron Leonard, spokesperson for People Reaching Out for Peace (PROPEACE), came to speak to students in the Univer- sity Union last month. No one came to hear them. Leonard’s enthusiasm did not seem dampened by the absence of interest of the CSUS campus. He said he had been warned about the possibility and had been advised, ‘‘Sacramento students are more interested in traditional val- ” ues. “I’m issuing a challenge to CSUS stu- dents,’’ he said. ‘‘If they are willing to participate, we welcome their participa- tion. We can’t live with these weapons and we can bring them down ... we have the power.”’ The intended speech became an inter- view. Leonard said that Newman, Strei- sand, Jodie Foster, Ed Asner, Richard Dreyfuss and other well-known person- alities have made financial contributions to PROPEACE, which is planning a nine month cross-country march from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in 1986. The march, which will pass through 15 states and 37 cities, commences on March 1. An estimated 5,000 people will leave their homes, families and jobs in hopes of convincing world leaders of the need for nuclear disarmament. It is the first in a hoped-for series that will take place all over the world, including the USSR. Local ‘‘peace activist’”” and PROPEACE organizer Stephen Souza said, “‘! feel that we are at a critical point in the history of Homo sapiens and that my efforts might make the difference.” Souza, a former CSUS student, dropped out of school to honor his com- m=mitment to this peace movement. He and his wife are currently considering selling their home so they can both par- ticipate in next year’s 255-day march. Ron Leonard said the orginal idea for the trek, known as the Great Peace March Across America, was conceived by David Mixner after hearing his two small nieces talk of their fear of death from nuclear war. Mixner, former manager of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s 1977 campaign, feels that each individual can make a difference. He says it is unacceptable for children to live with such fears and he has not done his part if children feel that way. Leonard said the group will travel 15 miles a day, six days a week. There will be a support group of 200, including a medical staff. Hot meals, showers and laundry services will be available on a daily basis for the marchers. Students will have the opportunity to participate in the ‘‘great moral adven- ture’ of our time and “‘inspire other citi- zens of the world to change the course of history’? according to advance press releases from the group. They will be given the opportunity to present the message, ‘‘Take down nu- clear weapons,”’ to leaders of the world. Through the ‘Investment for Life Pro- gram,’ six colleges have pledged $15,000 each to pay for the tents that will serve as cafeterias for the 5,000 hungry marchers. More than 200 colleges participated in the national campus fund-raising event held Nov. 3. The Los Angeles Coliseum will be the site of a “rousing send-off’ for the group that will pass through Las Vegas; St. George, Utah; Loveland Pass in the Rocky Mountains; Denver; the Great Plains; Chicago; Cleveland; Pittsburgh; New York City; Philadelphia; and Balti- more. A tent city will be erected for the esti- mated more than one million supporters who will join the final candlelight vigil ending the demonstration in Washing- ton, D.C. Mixner says, ‘“‘People have lost hope and the belief they can make any differ- ence ... members of Congress have made it very clear that nothing will hap- pen to dramatically affect the arms race until there is, literally, a citizen uprising.”’ There will be planned civil disobedience with an anticipated 250,000 arrests at different locations throughout the Unit- ed States. According to the soft-spoken Leonard, however, ‘‘Our commitment is to non-violence. We want to instill in the people a sense of hope.”’ Leonard went on to explain the me- chanics of the march and said that the movement is also in the process of es- tablishing a communications system with a disarmament movement in the Soviet Union. He said there will be a similar march starting in Great Britain going throughout Europe. Although the march will be completely self-contained, a group spokesman said they will not be isolated from the cities and towns it passes through. Tim Carpenter, PROPEACE field direc- tor, said, ‘‘Victims of radiation from atomic testing will lead the marchers through St. George, Utah. An elderly woman in Springdale, Utah, has pledged to enlist all 300 people in her town for a big party when they arrive. In Denver, there will be a ticker-tape pa- rade. Church bells will ring. Wherever we go, both children and adults will line the streets to deomonstrate their support.” According to releases fro m the group, a widespread recruitment campaign will take place this fall for the 5,000 march- ers. Intended participants must pass a physician’s examination. There will be a large-scale national media campaign and there has been good support from the Hollywood community. Veteran organizer Mixner said, ‘‘Never before in my 25 years of organizing has anything come together this easily. Op- timism, idealism, energy - there’s more than enough to carry this thing through.”’ In a guest editorial, Karen Litfin, a doc- toral student in politial science at Uni- versity of California, Los Angeles, and volunteer for PROPEACE says, ‘‘Join the march. See America. Make a differ- ence. Don’t just take history, make his- tory.” Mixner says there will be ‘‘strength through peace.” The rallying cry for the estimated 10 million step march for bi- lateral disarmament is ‘‘Put yourself on the line!’”’