Tom Hayden will be speaking at Occidental College on Tuesday, October 2nd, at 7:00pm in Johnson 200 about his new book, ENDING THE WAR IN IRAQ.

After forty years of social and political activism Tom Hayden -- a dynamic and inspiring speaker -- is still a leading voice for ending the war in Iraq, erasing sweatshops, saving the environment, and reforming politics through greater citizen participation.

v As a student at the University of Michigan, Hayden was a founding member of the radical student organization, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and author of its famed "Port Huron Statement," calling for "participatory democracy."

v Hayden was a leader of the movement against the Vietnam War, organizing teach-ins and demonstrations, writing, and making one of the first trips to Hanoi in 1965 to meet the other side and promote peace talks, journalistic contacts, and American POW releases.

v Hayden became well-known as a member of the Chicago Seven protesters who were indicted on conspiracy and incitement charges following their participation in an anti-Vietnam War protest at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention. Hayden was eventually acquitted of all charges.

v In the 1970s, Hayden organized the grassroots Campaign for Economic Democracy in California, which won dozens of local offices and shut down a nuclear power plant through a referendum for the first time.

v Beginning in 1982, Hayden served as a member of the California State Legislature, in both the Assembly and the Senate, for 18 years.

v Recently Hayden drafted and lobbied successfully for Los Angeles and San Francisco ordinances to end all taxpayer subsidies for sweatshops.

v A New York Times book review called Hayden "the single greatest figure of the 1960s student movement.” Nicholas Lemann, national correspondent of The Atlantic, wrote that "Tom Hayden changed America."

v Hayden is the author of 13 books, including "Irish on the Inside," "Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960s, "Street Wars: Gangs and the Future of Violence," "The Lost Gospel of the Earth," "Rebellion in Newark," "Radical Nomad: C. Wright Mills and His Times," and "The Port Huron Statement: The Visionary Call of the 60s Revolution."

v Hayden has been recognized for his work on progressive issues by many groups, including the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, Rainforest Action Network, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Association of Salvadorans in LA, the American Lung Association,California Public Interest Research Group (Cal PIRG), and the Liberty Hill Foundation.

v Hayden has taught at Occidental College and Harvard’s Institute of Politics and is now teaching at Pitzer College .

The book ENDING THE WAR IN IRAQ will be made available at the Oxy Bookstore and at the October 2 event.

Refreshments will be served. This event is sponsored by the Urban & Environmental Policy Program with generous support from the Remsen Bird Funds. For more information, please contact Peter Dreier at 323.259.2913 or dreier@oxy.edu <mailto:dreier@oxy.edu> or Sylvia Chico at 323.259.2991 or schico@oxy.edu <mailto:schico@oxy.edu>.