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May 25, 2005
Feature
Young Progressives founder hits bumps in road to active club
Elizabeth Tobey
The Clackamas Print
“I think that especially in com
munity college, people have work
and family and other things to do,”
said Lisa Nowak, looking up from an
empty table that should have held a
bubbling Young Progressives meet
ing;
“Everyone says that the first
year is always rally difficult with
a new club,” said Nowak, a hor
ticulture major at Clackamas, who
started working to crate the Young
Progressives club after the November
elections.
“I hadn’t been involved with poli
tics much before. I attended a Howard
Dean rally, got involved a little bit
with Democracy for America, and
then before the elections I volunteered
with the John Kerry campaign.”
“After the elections I felt like I
needed to do something,” she said. “I
was thinking that I wished there was a
group I could get involved with, so I
said ‘I guess I should start one.’”
The
mission of Young
Progressives, as stated on their web
site, is to promote understanding of the
Michael McCormack
The Clackamas Print
From February to August of2003,
a 23-year-old Clackamas student
put his life on the line as a soldier
for America, but more importantly,
for the lives and freedoms of the
people in Iraq. The following is
from aninterview with the soldier,
called "Johnson ” below to
preserve anonymity.
“The Iraqis were so scared of
Saddam when we got there; they
helped us get things we needed to
bring down his regime. We estab
lished great relationships with the
people, and essentially we were there
to liberate them,” said Johnson.
Johnson and his Marine comrades
were the first company into the coun
try. They arrived in Kuwait City dur
ing the worst dust storm of the year,
and worse yet, they wouldn’t have
showers built until four weeks later.
They established camp in Kuwait,
and in the fourth week the war started.
The Kuwaiti people offered their help
to the soldiers to act as interpreters
once they got into Iraq. One Kuwaiti
was assigned for each platoon.
The first fight involved the Iraqi’s
54th regiment, which was not affili
ated with Iraq’s Imperial Guard.
“We knew the Iraqis’ morale was
low, and we were ready to fight,”
Johnson said.
x
The U.S. soldiers had 10 minutes
until go time, but that time never
came. Right when they dismounted
from their vehicles to fight, Cobra
Marine helicopters flew over the bat
tleground and wiped out the Iraqis.
“A lot of us were glad we hadn’t
seen any real battle action, but some
of us were pissed that there was no
trigger time. The higher-ups were
hyping us up for battle, but the Cobras
were taking it all,” Johnson said.
During their voyage through Iraq
the worst thing that happened to them
so far was a dust storm. At 11 a.m.
the sky was a bright orange, and by 1
p.m. it was completely dark
“That storm lasted four hours, and
right after it ended a rain storm hit and
we were forced to sleep in the mud,”
Johnson said.
The morning after the storm,
“Good Morning America” was on
location with tile Marines, but 10
minutes before they were to go on air,
a call came in saying that there was a
hot area and immediate attention was
Shannon Armstead Clackamas Print
(From Left) Young Progressives member Shad Downey works
with and Lisa Nowak, the founder of the Young Progressives.
American government and encourage
young progressive students to vote,
educate themselves about current
events and become involved in the
political process on a local, state and
federal leveL
“I wanted to create an environment
for people to educate themselves, and
talk about current issues in politics,”
said Nowak.
needed. The battle lasted four days,
and at this time the Kuwaiti interpret
ers were needed to tell the Iraqi people
that any non-military personal needed
to leave the city in two hours, because
anyone who fired at the American
troops would get shot.
After this escapade, the troops set
forth into Saddam’s City in northeast
Baghdad. The first night was hell
for the troops; they set up camp in
the dark, and little did they know
that they were sleeping on a medical
dump.
“We couldn’t see anything, but the
stench was unbearable. There were
flies like I have never seen before
swarming all around us,” Johnson
said. “We woke up the next morning
and there were needles, medical sup
plies and body parts right where we
had slept; we all began to get sick”
When the troops went into the
city they had a huge firefight, and
the civilians, carrying white flags and
chanting “Bush No. 1,” were out
watching the fight happen.
Later that night the troops camped
next to a river and were ambushed
from across the way by the Imperial
Guard, who were in a warehouse.
This battle didn’t last very long, with
the Marines blowing up the ware
house, leaving only one Iraqi soldier
alive. But the next day was going to
be an interesting one for the troops.
“We went into Baghdad the next
morning with three trucks, three tanks
and 35 men,” Johnson said. “We got
hit like crazy from all angles; that city
is like a maze, but we were able to
hold them off.”
On that day, Johnson and his com
rades were Awarded a Presidential
Citation Award; the first platoon to do
so since Somalia in 1993.
The company had one more fire
fight in Baghdad before leaving the
city for good. Their next stop would
be in a city named Rumaytha.
While in this city, no big fire
fights took place, but the U.S. troops
developed good relations with the
Rumaytha civilians. Johnson said that
between 70 and 80 percent of Iraqi
people love Americans and George
W. Bush.
‘We needed to be there for the
people; Americans need to realize
that Saddam had guns in schools. The
place is just so fearful for the people,
especially the women and children,”
Johnson said.
Johnson wants the war to end, he
said, but not until we can ensure that
the children, the future of that country,
get the better life that they deserve.
She worked with Associated
Student Government to set up a new
club and found social science instruc
tor Alan Shackelford to be the advi
sor. She spent winter break learning
how to make the Young Progressives’
website and the club had its inaugural
meeting in January.
“ASG was rally pretty helpful
and encouraging” Nowak said. “And
for a while we had four to six regular
people [at the meetings].”
Discussion topics have ranged
from social security, to politics and
religion, the Howard Dean campaign
for National Democratic committee
chair, the anti-gay sentiment in recent
initiatives, the war in general, and
Evolution V’s intelligent design.
“In the beginning there were sev
eral enthusiastic ideas for fundraisers:
benefit concerts, selling bumper stick
ers and t-shirts,” she said. “I guess
life just got in the way for a lot of
people.”
Meetings, held every Wednesday
from noon to 1 p.m. in the Fireside
Lounge, now consists of two loyal
members and Nowak
“I’m a little disenchanted right
now,” she said, “because I put all this
work into it”
Although she will be graduating
this spring, Nowak plans to attend
Clackamas again in the fall to audit
some political science classes. “So,”
she said, “the opportunity is there to
continue Young Progressives.”
In ffie meantime, though, she is get
ting more involved with Democracy
for America, an organization that sup
ports progressive candidates at all lev
els of government
She currently runs the Mil waua
meetings that take place the
Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at tin
Pogy’s in Milwaukie. More informa
tion on the Milwaukie Democracj
for America is available at httpLdfa
meetup.com/712. General informa
tion about the organization can br
found at http://www.demoamcyfoi'a
merica.com.
“Once I graduate, I want to pu
more energy into getting peopl
involved [with Young Progressives].’
said Nowak
The experience, though a difficul
one, has taught her a lot about runnim
a club.
“I think committing to other tasks
with fundraisers and stuff, scar«
people away,” she said. “I guess if;
one thing to come up with ideas, anr
another to make it happen.”
“I think if it could really be moi
of a discussion and support group j
would attract more people,” Ncwal
said.
More information on the Yotm
Progressives club is available
www.youngprogressives.com.
Nowak can be contacted
webfoot-l@comcast.net.
Twenty-three-year-old Clackamas student and Marine, “Johnson,” served his count™
by going to Iraq as a soldier from February to August of 2003.
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