From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Expel GE from U. of Toronto!
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 08:15:08 GMT

/** gen.newsletter: 147.0 **/
** Topic: The ACTivist 8#10, October 1992 **
** Written  9:32 pm  Sep 24, 1992 by web:act in cdp:gen.newsletter **
The ACTivist is published by ACT for Disarmament, 736 Bathurst St.,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2R4, phone 416-531-6154, fax 416-
531-5850, e-mail web:act. Hard copy subscriptions are available
with a donation of $10 or more to ACT for Disarmament. The ACTivist
is published monthly.  Reprint freely, but please credit us (and
send us a copy!)  Opinions expressed in The ACTivist are not
necessarily those of ACT for Disarmament.

EXPEL GE FROM U OF T!

By Brian Burch
The ACTivist

When a movement is really growing, spontaneous actions of support 
occur where one least expects it. At the University of Toronto, the 
Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) has just begun a major
 campaign of education and action that includes as a primary focus 
the boycott of nuclear contractor General Electric. This scooped the U 
of T Student Christian Movement, which was planning to show the 
video Deadly Deception and circulate GE Boycott petitions.

OPIRG has been able to show direct links between U of T and GE, 
ranging from joint research initiatives, to an agreement to purchase 
only GE lightbulbs. OPIRG's campaign of petitions directed at U of T, 
publication of material on U of T purchasing policies, and networking 
across the U of T campus with sympathetic groups was an unexpected 
boost to the GE Boycott campaign in the Toronto area.

The GE Boycott campaign is attempting to have Deadly Deception 
shown at 1,000 educational institutions during the 1992-3 academic 
year. This campaign is more than an educational effort, as it is hoped 
that the video will spark local initiatives to build the GE Boycott based 
on the various conditions found in different areas. At the U of T, fall
 showings of Deadly Deception will serve to supplement a well-
organized outreach effort.

OPIRG let people at U of T know about the GE Boycott from the 
very beginning of this year's orientation, with a newsletter revealing 
how interwoven the campus is with one of the world's leading nuclear
 weapons developers and merchants. Sympathetic clubs and 
community groups are being asked to endorse the campaign to end 
U of T's involvement with General Electric through joint research efforts 
and to convince U of T to be a responsible consumer by ending its 
exclusive purchase policy for GE lightbulbs and appliances. OPIRG 
has prepared petitions and an information package.

Those who doubt the effectiveness of this boycott campaign can look 
at GE itself. GE has stopped production on the 'nuclear trigger', which 
they had manufactured for all U.S. nuclear warheads -- the very first
 demand of the boycott campaign! Every bit of pressure that can be 
put on GE is important to continue this trend. If OPIRG's U of T 
campaign is successful, it will greatly increase the momentum of the 
boycott.

To get involved with OPIRG's 'GE at U of T' campaign, contact 
OPIRG-Toronto, Rm. 201, 455 Spadina Ave, Toronto, M5S 2G8, 
598-2199. To get involved in the GE Boycott Committee, write or 
call c/o ACT for Disarmament, 736 Bathurst St., Toronto, M5S 2R4, 
531-6154.

** End of text from cdp:gen.newsletter **

Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive