This is an interview with two student activists regarding their experience at Cancel RIMPAC 2024. The International Cancel RIMPAC Campaign is dedicated to organizing and mobilizing in opposition to the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), an imperialist joint military exercise led by the United States.
The Human Cost of RIMPAC and Calls to Resistance
The Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC) is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise, hosted by the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet Command in conjunction with 28 partner nations and the U.S. Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard. The 2024 exercise marked the 29th year since 1971 that the event, held biennially because of its large scale, took place in American-occupied Hawaiʻi.
“Poetry Is Not a Luxury”: Building New Queer Worlds One Word at a Time
Audre Lorde asks us to view life as something to be experienced, not a problem to solve — to view our feelings as cherished sources of power and knowledge instead of treasures to bury deep inside. Our poetry and dreams unlock those wells of power that can lead to true lasting action.
Happy Pride! Our Commitment to Palestine
Stonewall serves as a reminder of the power of the masses to disrupt an oppressive status quo.
“This Is a Space of Love”: UCLA’s Palestinian Solidarity Encampment
On Thursday, April 25, UCLA activists erected a pro-Palestinian solidarity encampment in Dickson Plaza. The organizers intend to remain in place until UCLA has fulfilled their primary demand for divestment from corporations and institutions complicit in the genocide of Palestinians. Over a hundred students congregated behind makeshift barricades, many with tents for overnight stays.
The Homophiles, the Liberationists, and Us
Activism is rough, and we throw a lot of words around at each other. “Assimilationist!” “Unrealistic!” “Conformist!” “Aggressive!” LGBTQ+ activism has not only been met with virulent backlash from the cisgender, heterosexual side of society but also has been plagued by intra-community conflict on the best ways to do things. The tension surrounding LGBTQ+ activism boils down to a push and pull between outright rebellion and more incremental forms of justice. This conflict is not specific to the LGBTQ+ community; all sorts of movements spanning different identities and ideas encounter the contentious dichotomy between abolition and reform.
