BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS
"Ten students at the University of Florida in Gainesville subscribed to the Militant October 2 - 3," said Kristin Meriam, a Militant supporter, in a note she sent from Birmingham, Alabama. "Socialists from Atlanta and Birmingham set up a literature table in a busy plaza on campus both days. In addition to the subscriptions, we sold four copies of the Marxist magazine New International and 13 Pathfinder books."

The Young Socialists (YS) and Socialist Workers Party (SWP) members were invited by a student and attended a meeting of a newly formed socialist student group. The next day, four of the six students who took part in that meeting came by the literature table, Meriam said. "One subscribed to the Militant and bought six pamphlets, including The Communist Manifesto, Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle by Thomas Sankara, and Che Guevara and the Fight for Socialism Today: Cuba Confronts the World Crisis of the '90s by Mary-Alice Waters. Another person expressed interest in distributing the Militant.

"The table featured a big sign that read simply, `Subscribe to the Militant: $10 for 12 weeks' and several people just walked up to us and said they wanted to subscribe. Others were attracted by a colorful sign featuring books by Ernesto Che Guevara. A young Cuban- American from Miami had never heard of Guevara before and purchased a copy of Che's Socialism and Man in Cuba."

At the University of Alabama-Birmingham, a professor invited the socialists to give a presentation to his class on "Comparative Communist Systems," Meriam wrote. "When they did, two days later, students in the class bought copies of the Militant and pored over a display of Pathfinder books and New Inter- nationals. Several other tables on campuses in Alabama netted subscriptions and sales of the Marxist magazine, especially issue no. 8 with the article, `Che Guevara, Cuba, and the Road to Socialism.' "

In the middle of the October 4 - 12 target week of sales, Militant supporters are getting a similar response around the world, especially at events related to the 30th anniversary of Che Guevara's death.

During a Che Commemoration Conference at the University of Houston October 4 - 5, YS and SWP members sold 5 subscriptions to the Militant, 2 subscriptions to Perspectiva Mundial, 20 copies of the Militant, and 18 Pathfinder books, reported Jerry Freiwirth from Houston, Texas.

YS members brought several high school students to the workshops of the Houston gathering, which was sponsored by the Irish Unity Committee, the University of Houston Cuba Friendship Committee, and other student groups. Angela Davis; New International managing editor Steve Clark; and Blanka Kalzakorta of the Association of Relatives of Basque Political Prisoners, Refugees, and Deportees were the panelists at the main plenary session. A young restaurant worker who had attended several Militant Labor Forums over the past few months participated in the conference and asked to join the YS after the meeting.

These results boosted Militant supporters in Houston a few notches in the scoreboard this week.

"We are now working to up recruitment to the socialist movement and increase sales of socialist literature," Freiwirth said. "Our work with others to build the upcoming panel discussion at U of H on `Che Guevara, Internationalism, and His Legacy Today' bodes well for that." The event Freiwirth was referring to is sponsored by the University of Houston Department of History and African American Center and several student groups. It will take place October 28. Cuban brigadier general Harry Villegas has been invited to the panel discussion as the featured speaker.

Socialist workers are also making progress in sales on the job - particularly among members of the International Association of Machinists and the United, Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

"My election campaign has created an opportunity at Thorn Apple Valley, the meatpacking plant where I work, to discuss a broad array of political issues with co-workers," said Rosa Garmendía in an October 6 note to the Militant. Garmendía is the Socialist Workers candidate for mayor of Detroit. "Supporters of my campaign set up a literature table every Friday outside the plant. Their consistent presence has helped introduce the literature to workers in the factory I never see. This week, as we discussed with workers coming out of the plant the October 12 `March for Human Rights for Immigrants' in New York City, two UFCW members decided to subscribe to the Militant. One of them is a Liberian worker who wants to follow developments of the Cuban revolution." The weekly plant-gate sale had a lot to do with winning these two new subscribers, Garmendía noted.

These kind of persistent efforts can contribute toward reversing the lag in the subscription drive, now 10 percent behind schedule, and meeting the goals by October 26.

"We request that all distributors around the world fax or e-mail to the Militant where they stand in the drive by the end of Sunday, October 12," said Militant editor Naomi Craine in an interview. "The editorial staff will compile the figures by the next morning and send a chart so all our supporters can see what they accomplished by the end of the target week and what is still ahead in the next two weeks to meet the international goals in full and on time."  
 
 
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