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Start a Students' Union

You need to find like-minded students. I think that 1%-2% of your school population should do (ten to twenty people out of 1000). If you can, form an official school club, and invite people to join. If you can't, then meet during lunch or after school. Get a signup of at least 20%-30% of your school, with email address and phone number, all of whom would be willing to break a few rules if everyone else did. Send them information on various forms of protest (see below). Then, total up the number of people you have at your "disposal'.

Visit your principal. Tell him you represent the Students' Union. Give him a list of desired changes, and tell him: "We, the Union, require action to be taken on these items. if the Union does not see appropriate action being taken, we will take action." The point of this is to give your principal the idea that you represent a large portion of the school - which you do. You need to make clear that many people are dissatisfied, and that change is necessary. If he refuses, threatens to punish you, or does punish you, contact your mob. Take appropriate action. See below. If he allows you to leave him considering making changes, check back in a few days, and ask if he's made any progress. If he has, great. If he hasn't give him a few more days, then... contact your mob. Keep pushing until most or all of your changes are implemented. The following is a list of ways to protest:

A no-show. Tell your Union to not come to school the next day. At the end of the day, come to school and discuss things with your principal. If no progress is made, continue with the no-show, and take further action.

A walkout, an alternative to the no-show. This is effectively the same thing, but it is more dramatic and also harder to pull off. At a set time, about halfway through first block, everyone gets up and leaves. They can either go home, or gather and take further action. This looks way cooler, but there's a greater risk people will chicken out.

A declothing. Don't actually get nekid, just have everyone in your mob leave their uniform at home. Get them to dress as outrageously as they can; dye their hair, wear miniskirts and tubetops, paint tatoo designs on their arms and faces.

Have a sit-in. STORM THE OFFICE! Get as many people as you comfortably can into the office. Have someone commandeer the PA. If possible, remove the staff - without threats or violence, of course. Use the PA to explain to the entire school what is wrong and what you want done (this can be done live or with a recording). Invite all the non-Unionized students to join the portion of your mob not in the office. They should be camping out in the common areas, and in the halls, basically taking up space. Invite the entire school to go home, sing, stomp around, whatever. Make a big fuss. Then, explain to the principal via the PA that this will happen every day until your changes are made. Find some keys and lock yourselves in for the day. If the police become involved, tell everyone to go home. This should generally be one of your last resorts, as it kinda annoys the authorities.

March. A sit-in can be followed up by a march - a big parade around town, or at least for a few blocks. This serves to piss off staff and authorities. Remember, keep a group of people in the office, if you've occupied it.

Written by:
2 September 2006

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