Sunday, November 11, 2007

Cascadia Now Chapters Seek Student Organizers

By: Collin S. Ferguson

Abstract: The Cascadian Independence Project seeks students who want to take on a local and regional perspective in volunteering for community groups and advocates as well as political organizing in their city, county, state, province, region and country.

Students at Northwestern in Bellingham, University of Washington, SCCC, UW Tacoma, Evergreen, and Portland State University, Portland OR, are starting student chapters for the new regional advocacy group, the Cascadian Independence Project, or Cascadia Now. The group is in its infancy, but intends to keep growing and start student organizations at all Cascadian universities.

“We wanted to create an inclusive group that was an umbrella organization for everything Cascadia,” announced the group leader in an email. While the C.I.P. will not deny its inclination towards secession adding that it is the hope of the organization that students will support an investigative platform for Cascadian independence, C.I.P. has stated that it is fully accepting of variation in focus, “We’re not here to form a political group where it’s our way or the highway.” They hope to maintain a loose coalition allowing groups to suit the needs of their communities, and hoping that conferences and conventions will work to keep the focus of the organization as a whole. The C.I.P. wants to emphasize that community engagement is increasingly critical stating “We want our project to fill the gap that our current government(s) has left.”

The fundamental belief is that the Pacific Northwest can do it better and that a distant seat of power cannot properly govern everything that Cascadians witness on a daily basis. The C.I.P. wants to strengthen communities, investigate how to lessen dependence on federal government, and build a base of active citizens resolved to unify the Pacific Northwest.
The Cascadian Independence Project, formally the Cascadian Independence Party, hopes to create organizing committees that will connect the spread out groups and market the formation of new groups at local universities, community colleges, and the public at large.

The organization’s long term goals highlight work towards progressive change: writing and supporting local referendums, legislative policies and initiatives, as well as spreading the base by encouraging volunteer work, calls to political action, and contests for flag designs, anthems, emblems, logos, battle chants, etc. The organization also hopes to support food drives, first-aid trainings, worker retraining programs, creation and operation of info shops, promoting and participating in recycling and environmental clean ups, sponsoring local events and working as an arm in educational outreach.

The organization is attempting to build support throughout the Pacific Northwest by contacting and gaining support from other like minded groups. Much of their website is currently under construction, which is http://cascadianow.org, however an article about bioregionalism is available and you can contact the organization for more information at cascadianow@gmail.com.