 |
Mission:
To stimulate political consciousness and activism among the young electorate
of America in an effort to bring youth issues to the national political
spotlight.
Description:
Project M.O.S.H. (Make OurSelves Heard) is a peaceful organization working
for the young electorate of America. Project M.O.S.H. is both an information
source and an energy source for young Americas with regards to the world
of politics. As an information source, we organize programs and events
to educate the youth about current national issues as well as issues
specific to the youth. These programs cover domestic and foreign issues.
We plan to implement programs to help the
youth better understand the political system at the national, state
and local levels. We will use this information to energize
the youth to act on its beliefs. We will hold demonstrations, protests,
boycotts and other forms of action. The first of these was a demonstration
held on January 20, 2005 during President Bush's second inauguration.
History:
Project M.O.S.H. was founded by two freshmen, Kyle Carson and Eric Brady
at the University of Maryland College Park on November 11, 2004. The
organization was inspired by too things, disappointment in the result
of the 2004 election and Eminem's Mosh video. These would
lead one to believe that this is a partisan group, but Eric and Kyle
feel that it is important to unite the young electorate. They hold that
although much of the youth is equally disappointed in the outcome of
the election it is important to be non-partisan. There are Republicans,
moderates and independents currently involved. Kyle and Eric have minimized
Eminem's role in the organization saying that merely the theme of political
action is being used.
In a rebuttal Kyle Carson wrote the following, "It
is a common misconception that participation in democracy is merely
watching the news and showing up to vote." To this I
ask: would the Civil Rights Movement have been successful without the
demonstrations, protests, and marches? The answer is obviously "no".
In addition, Thomas Jefferson stated, "Dissent is the highest form
of patriotism". We are not only exercising our rights granted to
us by the Constitution, but more importantly, we are exercising our
civil duty and responsibility to ensure that the government is doing
its job." Furthermore the youth has been looked over by politicians
at all levels and on all parties due to its recent apathy. Because of
this it is one of the most vulnerable age groups in America. It is imperative
to increase political consciousness and activism within the young electorate.
In the preliminary stages, Kyle and Eric hoped to hold a demonstration
on campus so students could show their interest in politics and express
the issues they care about. Soon they decided to hold the demonstration
in D.C. during President Bush's second inauguration, Thursday, January
20th 2005. In the time between the founding of Project MOSH and the
inauguration, Eric, Kyle and other members have made MOSH
an acronym for Make OurSelves Heard,
created Project M.O.S.H. t-shirts, stickers, AIM Buddy Icons and, of
course, the website www.projectmosh.com.
For their first demonstration, approximately 35 students from schools
in the D.C. Metropolitan area came to Pennsylvania Ave. Participants
wore black hooded sweatshirts (taken from the theme of Eminem's Mosh
video) with their Project MOSH T-shirts on top. The t-shirts have a
white block on the back on which participants write an issue important
to them, thus making their voices heard. They
received attention from many people in attendance, including Ian Inaba,
director of Eminem's Mosh video and Tom Burrell, author for the American
Jurist of American University. To see the articles and videos
regarding Project M.O.S.H. visit our Links page. Project M.O.S.H. currently
has over 200 students involved on
the University of Maryland's campus as well as 20 other campus's that
have shown interest in the organization. Kyle, Eric and other members
are currently working on a constitution and other legislation needed
for SGA approval on University of Maryland's campus. This will then
be made accessible to other campus's around the nation.
In the upcoming year Project M.O.S.H. will have an executive board and
will hold student programs with organizations such as College Democrats,
College Republicans, NAACP and others to spread political consciousness.
For updates on upcoming events visit the online calendar. If you have
any questions comments or concerns please contact Project M.O.S.H. at
studentmosh@yahoo.com or put your comments in the message board.
UPCOMING
EVENTS COMING SOON...
|
