THE BATTLE AGAINST VOLUNTEERISM

Moral opposition to the Clinton-Bush Philadelphia Summit on Volunteerism does exist.

On Saturday, April 26th, the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) will launch a nationwide Campaign against Servitude. Its mission: to battle President Clinton's call for "the ethic of service.... The sense of duty... all of us owe to one another."

"The Clinton-Bush Summit is immoral. The Founding Fathers wrote a declaration of independence, not a declaration of servitude," says Dr. Michael Berliner, ARI's executive director. "The proposals for national service are an inversion of the principles on which this country was established: an individual's right to his own life, liberty and pursuit of happiness."

Press Conference
ARI's Campaign against Servitude officially begins in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 26, at 10:00 a.m. Professionals and students will hold a press conference to explain their moral stand against volunteerism, its meaning and effects (Sherman Room, Holiday Inn, 4th and Arch, (215) 923-8660. Contact: Scott McConnell, phone (310) 306-9232).

Photo Opportunity
At noon, on Saturday, opposite the Liberty Bell on Independence Mall (between Market and Arch), historian John Ridpath, will give an oration against the Summit's anti-Americanism. (Local contact: Scott McConnell, phone (310) 306-9232.)

Student Protest
Student protesters from The Coalition of Students against Servitude will take to the streets surrounding the Summit on Sunday, April 27th and Monday, April 28th. They represent at least 125 colleges throughout the country whose campuses are being papered with anti-volunteerism posters.

Protest Schedule:

• Sunday, April 27, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. — Students protest on Germantown Ave. against the Summit's "Duty of Commitment" activity of cleaning up graffiti.
• Sunday, April 27, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. — Students protest at Independence Mall (between Race and Arch).
• Sunday, April 27, 5:00 - 9:30 p.m. — Students protest outside the Convention Center against the Summit's opening "Celebration of Service."
• Monday, April 28, 7:30 a.m. - noon — Students protest — during the Summit's official opening, Independence Mall (between Market and Arch) — against their servitude.

Local contacts:
Scott McConnell: phone (310) 306-9232 and Sat.-Mon. (215) 923-8660
Student Protest Rep, Barry Wood: Sat.-Mon. phone (310) 306-9232

Also scheduled for Sunday, April 27th, on Leonard Peikoff's nationally syndicated radio show "Philosophy Who Needs It," a one hour interview of students protesting at the summit. The program is heard in Southern California on KIEV 870 AM at noon PT, Sundays. For other broadcast times and locations call Richard Ralston at (310) 306-9232. (See also the Ayn Rand Institute's Web Site)

ARI's Campaign against Servitude will continue during the upcoming months, culminating in a special July 4th event at which its "Petition against Servitude" will be presented to President Clinton. Any American wishing to be a petitioner can become one on ARI's website at http://www.aynrand.org/no_servitude

The Ayn Rand Institute, an educational organization established in 1985, seeks to advance novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and its principle tenets: reason, rational egoism and laissez-faire capitalism.

For further information, contact Dr. Michael Berliner at ARI, phone: (310) 306-9232, fax (310) 306-4925.