It was pretty slow today. I thought the powerpoint of servicemembers killed in 2016 would draw a bit more attention than it did.

I always have a number of the security guards stopping by the table and chatting. One older gentleman in particular, likes what we're doing. He works as a sub so he's not always there We talked about the slideshow of servicemembers killed in 2016. He was surprised at how many there were. I was surprised, when I was putting together the slideshow, how many are killed by non combat related incidents. At the end of the lunch periods I had a long talk with a female security guard who predicts Trump will leave office in a year or two in handcuffs. That seems unlikely. Not that he hasn't done things that are illegal.Spo

Spotted on a young man's t-shirt - "Does this proton make my mass look big?"

My contact at BGHS is the college and career assistant. District 214 reduced that position to half time this year and she and I have had several conversations about that. Our conversation plus the conversation with my contact at Wheeling HS and various students, gave me the incentive to update our list of scholarships for undocumented. The list was developed by AFSC but hasn't been updated in years. I went through it; made some corrections; and incorporated a similar list developed by Project YANO (Youth and Non Military Alternatives). I gave her a copy and told her to use it however she wanted to. It still needs review but I saw no reason to hold onto it any longer.

It was getting near the end of the lunch hours and I had not managed to get one student interested in signing up for the peace club but a young woman stopped by and said she was interested. And in a few minutes she sent over four of her friends. So I ended up getting five names. I made no promises. A lot will depend on how many students express an interest and whether we can get a teacher to sponsor. Maybe if we volunteer to co-sponsor? We shall see.

Libby 

Pictures of my table today:

Greetings!

It's a different day at Rolling Meadows High School.  I have been positioned in a different spot in the cafeteria to make room for a "Recycled Runway." This seems to be a group of students, each attired in an outfit put together from used, repurposed garments. It appears to be some kind of contest. I couldn't hear what someone said with a microphone.

The new mayor of Rolling Meadows just walked past. I congratulated him on his election. As you know, the mayor's day job is working security at this school. He has served for quite a while on the city council, and has impressed me as a relatively sharp fellow.

I brought my laptop today. While I sit at the peace table, the computer is playing the slide show of the past year's US military war fatalities. Nobody is looking at it.

It was Hawaiian shirt day today. I didn't get the memo, but I was not alone. I asked someone why April 11 but their answer really didn't make sense.

One of the security guards who served in the military during the 80's, was very interested in the current "pie chart" flyer from the War Resisters League. They produce a flyer that analyzes where our income tax money really goes. I've had it on the table during April in conjunction with tax day. We talked a bit about military recruitment and the likelihood that our current administration will be able to increase the Armed Forces by as many bodies as they hope. He commented that many of the students at Wheeling that might be candidates would be disqualified because of arrest record or gang affiliation.

A little bit later I noticed another security guard came over and picked up one of the pie chart flyers.

Several interesting conversations with  young folks who stopped and asked who we were and what we were doing. Sometimes it's hard to determine if they're really interested or just want a button. But I assume they're interested.

The current issue of  "The Spokesman" was available (the school newspaper). Several things that caught my eye:

•  The baseball team is using yoga in their spring training
•  The Gay Straight Alliance is sponsoring a "Day of Silence" April 21 to recognize those that have been bullied or victims of sexual assault.

The picture is of a tshirt I saw an African-American student wearing --

Rather slow today. (That seems to be a recurring theme).

Had a long talk with a young man who wants to be a dermatologist. I asked him what he thought about the air strike on Syria. He expressed a lot of concern about where it would lead us. If only we would listen to the youth!

He came back later to show me a YouTube video of Alex Jones, some far-right radio show host. The guy's antics are certainly wasted on radio - you need to see him to believe it. I asked how he found out about this guy. He said his mother found out about the show from another program she watches. I guess I'm just not up on my far-right radio shows.