Remembering the Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort (S.C.O.P.E)

On-campus activism focused on global and local issues has been of longstanding importance to students at Southwestern University. This activism has taken many forms over the years and has covered a wide variety of topics, changing depending on what students felt was important at the time.

However, while many of these organizations made changes to campus policies and practices that have had a long-lasting impact on the community and campus culture, many past organizations responsible for enacting these changes are not currently remembered by current students at Southwestern.

One reason for that is that not only have the focus of the organizations changed over time, but oftentimes the names of organizations focused on specific issues have changed as well. All of this makes tracing the history of student activism at Southwestern difficult to trace, much less feel.

The purpose of this entry is to trace the history of one of the more influential groups from the late 1980s, the Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort, or S.C.O.P.E., to show how the group was formed, what it accomplished, and how it built the foundation for activist groups that followed it, including many social justice advocacy groups associated with the JEDI Center today.

S.C.O.P.E. was an important precursor to contemporary social justice student organizations that especially should be remembered by current student activists.

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The Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort (S.C.O.P.E.) was a non-profit, non-partisan, educational student organization on Southwestern University’s campus from Fall 1985 to Fall 1990. They were a faction of Voice, an umbrella student organization that aimed to stimulate the discussions of controversial issues. S.C.O.P.E. was originally created to raise awareness for the need for nuclear disarmament and to speak about the United States’ military involvement in Central America.

S.C.O.P.E.’s first meeting place was in the meeting rooms attached to the old Round Commons behind the Chapel, which is the pin location for this entry. As the organization grew and began changing leadership, they started meeting in the Faculty Lounge and eventually in different locations around Smith Library Center. Throughout the five years they operated, they met at 6 pm or 8 pm every Thursday, depending on which location they were at during that period.

Their aim was to educate students, staff, and faculty about nuclear disarmament and how to participate in political advocacy. They wrote to legislators and circulated petitions, including one sent to President Reagan in 1985 with 170 SU signatures. They sponsored speakers from the United Campuses to Prevent Nuclear War (UCAM), and went to local and national anti-war demonstrations.

S.C.O.P.E. held lots of events on and off campus throughout the ten semesters they existed. The most notable being Peace Week, hosted twice during their time. The first Peace Week was hosted from March 24-27, 1986. At the center of the event was a three day long art show full of anti-war art created by SU students and Georgetown community members in the Union. The show was titled Artists for Peace.

They also hosted a segment titled Performers for Peace, which featured short skits, poems, book/story readings, and musical performances. S.C.O.P.E. furthered its relationship with UCAM by inviting them to speak on campus, as well. They hosted other speakers and lecturers about peace-related issues. Finally, they got permission to play peace-oriented music March 24-26 during dinner in the Commons.

In the fall semester of 1986, S.C.O.P.E. began their official affiliation with UCAM. They hosted a membership drive September 11-12 and 15-17 in the Commons during lunch and dinner. UCAM had a $10 membership fee that gave members a UCAM newsletter, UCAM Network News, and eligibility to participate in the US-Soviet exchange program.

This is also the first time the organization established leadership positions. In the September 12, 1986 Megaphone, S.C.O.P.E. congratulated their newly elected officers for the upcoming school year. Jennie Jones served as President with Cami Cunningham as her Vice President. Wendy Hoefke served as the Treasurer, Tasha Clark as the Corresponding Secretary, and Debbie Volker as the Recording Secretary.

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Within just the first two semesters of existing, S.C.O.P.E. found itself in the middle of public political debates on campus. The most prominent of these was with Mike Flaniken, a staff member on the Megaphone at the time. This was in the middle of the Reagan presidency, and Mike frequently wrote under a column titled “The Right View,” where he represented himself as a spokesperson for conservative students on campus.

This public debate reveals a lot about student politics at the time, but also reveals how students then used the platforms available to them at the time--Megaphone columns, Megaphone Letters to the Editor, public spaces, and even Campus Mail--to communicate to each other in a ways very different than students do today.

The first opinion piece Mike published about S.C.O.P.E. was titled “The Choice Between Peace and Freedom” and came out on September 26, 1986. In this issue, Mike claimed that the peace movement posed a threat to the American way of life, and singled out S.C.O.P.E. He also claimed that the Soviet Union did not have an equivalent peace movement to what was happening in the United States. He felt that anything stating otherwise was propaganda.

S.C.O.P.E. President Jennie Jones and member Tasha Clark both wrote letters to the editor in the issue published the following Friday, October 3, 1986. The two corrected the misinformation spread by Mike about the organization and peace activists in general. Additionally, they both invited him to attend a S.C.O.P.E. meeting to get a better understanding of the group, what they discuss, and what they stand for. Jennie specifically mentioned how the organization is welcoming to anyone and that they invite people with differing opinions to attend to aid in a mutual discussion and understanding of one another.

In response to these letters, Mike wrote a full page rebuttal in the following Megaphone issue, published October 17, 1986. In this rebuttal, he claims that S.C.O.P.E. does not actually educate their members as they state, but rather shows only one side of a story- the “radical” left side. He reiterates his belief that S.C.O.P.E.’s claims that the USSR peace movement even exists is propaganda. Finally, Mike explains how he is not interested in attending a S.C.O.P.E. meeting because he already knows the ideals they hold. He ends the article asking for any further commentary to be sent to his campus mail box directly instead of in the form of a public letter to the editor.

Despite his attempt to shut down this discussion and remove it from the Megaphone, on October 31, 1986 the newspaper published the final closing statements of this argument. Jennie, once again, tries to correct Mike on his statements and educate him about his spread of misinformation. She also mentions how he wanted this discussion to continue occurring outside of the Megaphone, countering that she believed that by allowing this to play out in the newspaper, students would spark thought and discussion about the arms race.

The final comment on this debate was actually made by another student, non-S.C.O.P.E. member, Jay Richards. He explains how week after week he, along with other students, read something Mike has written and understand that he only presents his one-sided version of reality. Jay calls out Mike’s hypocrisy stating that S.C.O.P.E. needed to present arguments from both sides, yet he refuses to attend one of their meetings. Jay explains how he, too, has never attended a S.C.O.P.E. meeting but that is exactly why he does not aim to explain to the group what they do or do not believe. He ends his critique against Mike by mentioning how he does not know if his arguments are right or wrong, but he does know that they are inherently flawed because he globally discounts the ideas and perspectives of his opponents.

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In January of 1987, UCAM selected Southwestern University S.C.O.P.E. to represent the state of Texas for the 1987 Lobby Day/ Leadership training hosted in Washington D.C. It was held April 9th and 10th of that year. This was UCAM’s fourth annual national lobby effort to try and stop the arms race, with the main goal of the event to encourage individuals to express their concern directly to Congressional offices in D.C.

S.C.O.P.E. was selected due to their dedication to the cause, their continued education on the Southwestern campus, and because of how young many of the individuals in the organization were. UCAM wanted to show that the talk about the youth not caring about the arms race was merely a myth by allowing a large, active student-led organization to hold such an important role in the event.

After the trip to DC, UCAM also proved helpful in educating S.C.O.P.E. and asking them to do the same to the general public at Southwestern University. UCAM sent a timeline explaining President Reagan’s decision to nullify the 1972 Arms Control Treaty. Once S.C.O.P.E. received this timeline, they ensured that it was added into the Megaphone in order to reach the student population.

On February 4th and 5th of 1987, four S.C.O.P.E. members travelled to the Nevada Nuclear Testing Site to participate in an organized non-violent protest. The goal of the protest was to draw attention towards peace and anti-nuclear movements across the country. It was hosted by the American Peace Test and Peace Caucus of the American Public Health Association.

The protestors were divided into two groups, those who decided to participate in civil disobedience and those who did not. Protestors were not allowed to cross into the government’s property during the rally, but 438 individuals intentionally did so. They peacefully accepted arrest and used it as a means to show how dedicated they were to the cause.

Only one S.C.O.P.E. member was arrested at this protest, Tasha Clark. Tasha explained afterward in a Megaphone article published February 20, 1987, how she preferred to get arrested than just have to pay a fine. She explained how willingly serving the six days proved her devotion to the cause.

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Due to how successful the first Peace Week was the year prior, S.C.O.P.E. planned a second one from February 9-12, 1987. This second annual Peace Week also included a peace-themed art show, this one for the entire week instead of just three days.

In part to counter Mike Flaniken’s claims that S.C.O.P.E did not accurately educate their members on both sides of a problem the previous semester, they invited more prominent speakers with credentials to this Peace Week. A professor of Latin American History from the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Jenny Barnett, presented a slideshow about Central America along with a discussion on ways to gain peace for the region. They also hosted Jerry Locke, a veteran of the Vietnam war and representative of the Central American Peace Initiatives, alongside two other veterans and representatives. The three of them spoke about the United States’ continued involvement in Central American affairs.

Peace Week also had speakers from the Peace Project come to talk about becoming a more peace-minded individual. S.C.O.P.E. managed to secure a videotape of Carl Sagan from the Peace Project that was played in the Faculty Lounge in the SUB.

The second Peace Week was incredibly successful. S.C.O.P.E. was able to host much larger events and invite more speakers to the campus. Its success made it seem like Peace Week would be an annual event every February at SU. Unfortunately, the 1987 Peace Week was the last ever one hosted at this University. Today, among students and most faculty and staff, there is no collective memory of it having occurred and nothing commemorating what S.C.O.P.E. and Peace Week did for the campus.

In the fall semester, S.C.O.P.E. hosted a speaker from the American Peace Test in the library AV room. The individual showed a presentation about an upcoming action at the Nevada Nuclear Testing Site. The advertisement for this event was published in the Megaphone in an issue that was released on September 18, 1987, three days before the speaker would be on campus. Alongside this advertisement, S.C.O.P.E. mentioned how they are welcoming anyone to come attend the one hour lecture. This was one of their final events focusing solely on disarmament before they began opening up the organization towards other peace issues.

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Fall of 1988 brought a large change in how S.C.O.P.E. operated and what they valued. Roxanne Simpkin, member of S.C.O.P.E. and writer on the Megaphone at the time, explained in a newspaper issue published September 15, 1988, how the organization was founded with the goal of educating and growing hope for a better world. She states how every member in the organization is equal and that they have a right to stand up for what they believe in. Additionally, no one is forced to do anything they do not wish to do.

Roxanne goes on to mention how S.C.O.P.E. will begin focusing on multiple issues, not just disarmament. They announce how they will be involved with Amnesty International and SANE Freeze, along with homelessness and community outreach in Georgetown. They will not entirely give up on discussing nuclear issues and the United States involvement in Central America, however, they aim to do things in Georgetown to directly promote peace and happiness here.

Sticking with their plan, in February of 1989, S.C.O.P.E. hosted Alison Brause of United Farm Workers (UFW). She began their meeting by offering donuts to anyone who attended. Before she handed them over, she sprayed Raid on each donut. When no one decided to take the donuts anymore, Alison explained how the same type of pest-killers are sprayed onto our food. She stated how it is a danger to anyone who consumes this food but the risk is much larger for those who work on these farms.

Brause talked about how beyond the rashes and sickness these workers experience, the long-term exposure can cause birth defects or even cancer to the children of these workers. This is why the UFW supported legislation to stop the use of these pesticides and to find alternative, safer farming methods. She calls for the students to boycott grapes and other fruits and vegetables, in combination with the boycott started in California by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.

Beyond just the boycott, SU students heard about the 37 day fast completed by Cesar Chavez along with his urge to continue the fast chain around the country. The fast on SU campus began with S.C.O.P.E. member, Tasha, who fasted for three days before passing it along to James Rodriguez. He planned to fast for three days, as well, and pass it along to Rebecca Cheney. Additionally, students also gathered signatures around campus for a petition on behalf of UFW.

Along with adding the workers movement to their list of concerns, S.C.O.P.E. began focusing on recycling and environmental issues. In a Megaphone article published September 14, 1989, S.C.O.P.E. explained how they are planning a recycling campaign on campus for paper and aluminum cans starting that fall semester.

Additionally, they aimed to educate students about these environmental problems. Their first method of education was showing The Lorax written by Dr. Seuss on the Student Union Building Veranda the upcoming Saturday night. Afterwards, they sponsored an event titled Give Peace a Dance/Give Earth a Chance, also located on the Veranda.

The following month, S.C.O.P.E also hosted a meeting in the Smith Library Center to speak about a plethora of new issues. This included speaking about reproductive rights along with the housing crisis and Housing Now! march that had recently taken place in Washington D.C. They also used the time to continue their discussion on recycling and certain environmental initiatives on campus. This meeting, and its announcement in the October 12, 1989 edition of the Megaphone, marks the first mention of S.C.O.P.E. working with other organizations at SU. For instance, they sponsored the Coffee House with the English Society.

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While S.C.O.P.E. was initially only involved in disarmament, the organization grew to care for a multitude of issues as it expanded. They hosted lots of events throughout the five years they ran. However, the 1989 S.C.O.P.E. projects were what really pushed the organization in a new direction. This includes Earth Day, recycling initiatives, Rape Education Week, the Mobalize for Women’s Lives March, and fasting for OXFAM. Additionally, they made large changes in the structure of the organization.

In 1989, the group decided to get rid of hierarchical officer positions by creating a steering committee. The steering committee would lead the group by consensus. The committee was made up of Laura Cordes, Laura Wilson, Kim Crowder, Jill Ford, Heather Miller, Jeff Iezzi, and their faculty advisor from the Philosophy Department, Tom Blackburn.

All of this change caused the steering committee to believe that a name change was in order, as well. They collectively decided the Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort will be renamed to the Progressive Student Alliance (P.S.A.).

The committee believed that P.S.A. is a more accurate title for what they would continue to do. They spoke about how P.S.A. is now no longer a coalition of peace-based concerns, but rather is open to the education of all social, political, and environmental issues. They also changed their meetings to every other Tuesday beginning September 11, 1990, at 8:30 pm in the Smith Library Center. Their first planned event was a coastal clean up in Galveston on September 22, 1990.

The Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort brought a large amount of change and education during its ten-semester run. They helped educate students not only about the arms race and disarmament, but also about different environmental and social problems. Beyond all that they did to serve the community, they also allowed friendship and distinctive collaborative leadership roles to flourish.

Despite its role in establishing a student culture of activism around a broad base of social justice issues, S.C.O.P.E. is not currently being actively commemorated on Southwestern University’s campus. It is up to current and future students to remember this organization and everything they did for our campus community.

S.C.O.P.E. held the incredibly successful Peace Week, an event that is pertinent now more than ever and could be started up again by current student groups in honor of the work the previous organization did. Additionally, S.C.O.P.E. was the first student organization to get the University to establish recycling efforts at SU.

For several decades now, environmental sustainability concerns have been important to many students on this campus, especially with groups such as SU Environmentalists (formerly SEAK, Students for Environmental Activism and Knowledge), but few of us know that these groups today are building on the foundation created by S.C.O.P.E.

These organizations are able to do what they do currently because of how S.C.O.P.E. helped SU through 1985 and 1990. S.C.O.P.E. also could serve as an inspiration for current student organizations trying to develop more collective forms of collaborative leadership.

S.C.O.P.E. and its members should be remembered for their long-lasting impact on this campus and our community. While their original meeting place no longer exists on this campus, the changes they implemented and their model of student leadership and advocacy do.

The work of the Student Coalition for an Organized Peace Effort did not end when the organization did. Rather, it lives on every time a student identifies an injustice and not only says “That should change,” but also, “I will work with other students to make sure it does.”

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