I am 22 years old, a 4th year Biology student at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA, and I’m originally from Cincinnati, OH. In recent years, I have participated in a number of nonviolent, anti-war and anti-torture campaigns, including the campaign to shut down SOA/WHINSEC and the Occupation Project against the war in Iraq. Over the next ten days I will forgo food in solidarity with those held and tortured by the US, domestically and abroad. Because I will not be able to travel to DC, I will use this time for personal reflection and to communicate my belief that Guantanamo is but the visible manifestation of our collective desire to punish in order to maintain systems of international exploitation and internal domination. The roots of Guantanamo run deep in our history, and shutting it down will be in vain if we do not use this moment as a catalyst to hold ourselves accountable for the injustice on which this country was founded and that is perpetuated in our name today.