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Alternative Spring Breaks are designed to give college and high school students something more meaningful to do during their week off, rather than just spending time at the beach or sitting at home catching up on school work. The specific purpose of this Alternative Spring Break is to bring students to Austin for five days of anti-death penalty activism, education and entertainment. This is the place to be if you want to become a part of the next generation of human rights leaders. Go to the beach to change your state of mind for a week, come here to change the world forever. We will provide participants with workshops led by experienced, knowledgeable presenters who will teach them skills that they can use to go back home and set up new anti-death penalty student organizations or improve ones that may already exist. The skills participants will learn can also be used in other issues besides the death penalty. Students will gain valuable training and experience in grassroots organizing, lobbying, preparing a direct action and media relations. During the week, students will immediately put what they learn into action during activities such as a Death Penalty Issues Lobby Day and a Direct Action Day. There will be opportunities to write press releases, speak in public, meet with legislators or their aides, and conceive and carry out a direct action.
Texas leads the nation by far in number of executions. Texas performed 45 percent of all the executions in the United States in 2006. Twenty-four people were executed in Texas 2006. There were 53 executions in the U.S. in 2006. Since the U.S Supreme Court ruling in 1976 that allowed executions to resume after a four-year period during which they were considered unconstitutional, there have been 1058 executions in the United States. Texas has performed 380 of those executions, which amounts to about 35 percent of the national total. According to the 2000 census, Texas has only 7.4 percent of the nation's entire population. Although the majority of the participants will be students, it is also a good opportunity for young people who are not students to become active. There are after all lots of young people who for various reasons don't go to college, but who may want to do something against the death penalty. The events and workshops are also open to the general public of any age, although the housing is reserved for young people. (Click to see tentative schedule.) Join us March 10-14, 2008 in Austin for the award-winning Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. Registration for our Alternative Spring Break is free. We only charge a nominal $25 fee for housing, which covers the entire week. If you live in Austin or arrange for your own housing, then there is no fee, but we ask that you register so we know how many people are coming. Register now for 2008 Alternative Spring Break: http://www.springbreakalternative.org/ If you can not attend the spring break please sponsor a student by donating to Texas Students Against the Spring Break. Contact for this event: Hooman Hedayati
President, Students Against the Death Penalty
Advisory Board, Campus Progress at the Center for American Progress
www.StudentAbolition.org
www.TexasAbolition.org
hooman [ATT] texasabolition [DOTT] org
(210) 601-7231 (Read Hooman's account of the 2006 spring break in our archives. - DC)
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March 2008 
