Greetings -  I just wanted to introduce myself to members of the peace community . My name is Kyla Christie and I am the new President of Buffalo State Students for Peace (SFP) for the upcoming fall and spring semester.  The WNY Peace Center has been one of our main allies, and I look forward to our continued work together.

SFP has historically focused on education, awareness, political agitation and direct action, and this year its focus is the same. This year I would like to see SFP as a more active organization, passionate about peace and social justice, forming a progressive student movement on campus.

Last year SFP increased their activities on campus and in the peace community. To name a few examples, we hosted distinguished speaker Amiri Baraka, took a trip to the School of the Americas, and registered many new students to vote. I want this year to have even more energy and intensity than last year.

Right now we are working on preparing for the In-District visits during the first week of August to combat military spending in the budget by twenty-five percent, and lobbying to use military dollars on things we actually need.  We are also aiming to send people to the Think Outside the Bomb conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The vision of Think Outside the Bomb is to work toward a nuclear-free world, empower campus leaders, and bring about real social change. It takes place Aug 13-16.

This year Students for Peace aims to get involved with a number of different projects. We are planning to participate in the college’s Fall Write-A-Thon, focusing on human rights in conjunction with Amnesty International. We will also host a film series in conjunction with the WNY Peace Center.

SFP also plans to participate in Food Not Bombs, which will be on Saturdays during the fall semester. Food Not Bombs is an international organization that works to stamp out hunger, and has a local chapter in Buffalo. We also aim to team up with the Buffalo chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), another activist organization on campus. SFP is planning on co-sponsoring the annual Sleep Out for the Homeless event, which raises awareness about homelessness, and also aids in collecting non-perishables for the WNY Food Bank.   Another big project is coordinating the annual Peace Conference at Buffalo State, which will be held at the end of October.  SFP also aims is to attend the School of the Americas protest in Georgia and go to the March on the Pentagon in Washington DC.    
  
Buffalo State Students for Peace opposes all wars, militarism, and xenophobia. We are committed to the movement for Peace and Justice. We are non-partisan and non-ideological, and all individuals from all walks of life are welcome. If you are interested in taking part in our organization, would like to learn more, or have any questions, email
BSCstudentsforpeace@gmail.com.

Peace and Solidarity,
Kyla Christie