Stories of the Vietnam Draft and War
NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 10/25/11
CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR, (413) 545-0162
UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES HOSTS
SEVENTH ANNUAL COLLOQUIUM ON SOCIAL CHANGE
STORIES OF THE VIETNAM DRAFT AND WAR:
WHY THESE STORIES NEED TO BE TOLD IN THEIR VARIETY,
THEIR INTENSITY AND THEIR HONESTY
Amherst, MA – UMass Amherst Libraries will host the Seventh Annual Colloquium on Social Change at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2011, in the Cape Cod Lounge at the Student Union, UMass Amherst. Social justice activist Tom Weiner will give a talk on his recently published book Called to Serve: Stories of Men and Women Confronted by the Vietnam War Draft. The book is the fruit of years of extensive interviews, with chapters for people who made different choices among the available options: to serve, to resist, to leave the country, to become a conscientious objector, or to find a way around the draft altogether, as well as a chapter for those who loved, counseled and supported. Weiner’s presentation will include several of his interview subjects who will share parts of their testimonies. Weiner recently donated the tapes of the interviews and the transcripts to Special Collections and University Archives.
Tom Weiner has been an educator for 35 years. He is actively involved in civil rights work in the local public schools and at Smith College. Weiner was drafted in 1971 and since that time he has sought to document the wide range of Vietnam War draftees’ experiences. He found that lives were often changed irrevocably by the decisions young men and women made in response to the war. Sixty-one men and women were interviewed, 30 testimonies make up the book. Most are Pioneer Valley residents now, although their draft boards were scattered across the country at the time of the war.
As a major resource for documenting the history of social change, with rich archival collections, Special Collections and University Archives at UMass Amherst Libraries seeks to encourage a dialog with its audience to explore how concepts of liberty and justice play out in the lives of ordinary Americans and to reimagine the struggle for social justice in the twenty-first century.
For more information, contact Rob Cox, head of Special Collections and University Archives, at rscox@library.umass.edu, or 545-6842. For more information on Tom Weiner visit http://www.calledtoservevietnam.com/.
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Last Edited: 25 October 2011
