Tune In
After 4 years on Pack Square, protesters expand to radio
by Ashley Wilson
published January 10, 2008 12:15 am
ASHEVILLE — In the middle of Pack Square, Kindra Phillips stood on a makeshift pedestal dressed as the Statue of Liberty with her mouth gagged. The light green fabric of her costume blew in the wind as honking cars drove by.
Phillips is one of 20 locally active members of Veterans For Peace. The organization, along with the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, holds weekly demonstrations on Pack Square to get more people involved in anti-war efforts.
The two organizations are working together to launch a radio talk show on WPVM-FM 103.5 next week.
“We just had enough,” said Phillips, who joined the organization six months ago and served in the U.S. Navy for 10 months. “I couldn’t just sit at home and not do anything.”
Two members of Iraq Veterans Against War and one member of Veterans For Peace will host the 30-minute talk show. The organizations plan to feature news, interviews and guest speakers on the show. They also hope to discuss benefits and resources for veterans and air spoken word and music from area veterans.
“We want to give a voice to veterans because we don’t feel they are represented on a national, local or state level,” said Jason Hurd, Asheville chapter president of Iraq Veterans Against the War. “As much as a stake people put in us, we might as well have our opinions heard.”
Members hope that the radio show will get the same positive community response as that the rest of their work gets. In addition to the weekly demonstrations, they have collected almost $20,000 to rebuild an orphanage in Afghanistan. They also organize tabling, counter recruitment in area high schools and bus trips for local and national rallies.
“The response we get is normally very positive — much more than when we first started,” said Lyle Petersen, president of Veterans For Peace’s North Carolina chapter. “We used to get gestures and a lot of negativity at the start, but now it’s become more positive.”
For more than four years, members of the organization have been standing on Pack Square. They started the demonstrations on the day U.S. troops entered Iraq.
WPVM is a low-powered FM radio station broadcasting in Asheville and globally on the Internet and is run completely by volunteers and donations.
Vets Take to the Air
Unless a meteor hits the programming committee, “Veterans Voices” is scheduled to take to the air on WPVM every Wednesday at 5 pm, with Kindra Phillips (minus the gag) at the board.
Look for other new shows as the new schedule kicks in next week. Welcome to WPVM, all you new folks! This is your community radio station!
Learn more
• For more information on Veterans For Peace visit: VFP Chapter 099 or Veterans For Peace.
• For more information on Iraq Veterans Against The War visit: IVAW-Iraq Veterans Against the War
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