As the Guilford Action Network prepares for its year, junior Naman Hampton remains pleasantly surprised by the club’s steady growth. The group was organized in the spring of 2001 with nine members and now has 45. Sixty students attended a recent showing of “Breaking the Bank,” an independent documentary on the April 2000 protests of the IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. “Sixty people at a Guilford event on a weekend is pretty good,” Hampton humbly admitted.

The Guilford Action Network, or G.A.NE, is now focused on another protest in D.C. of the IMF and World Bank. It will lead a makeshift convoy of 30 to 40 Guilford students to the nation’s capital and take part in several facets of the demonstration on Sept. 29 and 30, which is why it held the Direct Action Training on Saturday the 8th in preparation.

“We’re providing options for people on campus who want to address the problem,” said Hampton, defining that problem as “the dominant culture of consumption for which corporations are responsible.”

“What we’re seeing now, through corporate-based globalization, is consumption and materialism being constantly reinforced. It’s cultural imperialism,” Hampton said.

So what role do World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization play in this?

“WB, the IMF, and the WTO work together to take Third World countries in debt and offer them short-term relief, but as a condition they must reorient their economies towards the benefit of multi-national corporations, which expand the culture of consumption,” Hampton said. “Money previously intended for social spending like health care and education goes to industrial development which benefits First World countries and profits the American economy.”

Because of the upcoming protests in D.C., G.A.NE is intently focused on this particular issue. But the organization has other purposes besides protesting corporate-based globalization. One goal that G.A.NE has for the year is to change its image. Last year, the focus was on using creative and somewhat controversial means to get people involved, instead of just panels and discussions. The approach had mixed results.

For instance, last year members placed flyers on cars that resembled parking tickets, with a fine of $17,000. This was done to raise the awareness of the environmental costs of driving a car.

“It got everybody talking. Some people were defensive about it and others thought it was cool,” said Hampton. “It was good to get discussion going on campus.”

Part of the image change is a new name. The organization decided to switch from Culture Jammers, its previous title, to the present one.

“We had people who agreed with what we said, but because of our tactics felt excluded,” Hampton said.

G.A.NE’s agenda also includes local environmental causes. Last year, students currently involved with G.A.NE resisted plans for a 3-lane access road to the YMCA that would have cut through the Meadows, and the plan was abandoned. Now there are reports that the New Garden Friends School has a parking lot in mind that would also interfere with the Meadows, located behind the student apartments.

Hampton is cautious; “We’re concerned about the matter. At the same time, we don’t want to overreact to rumors.”

Another major topic of concern is addressing Greensboro’s problem with urban sprawl. Hampton says Greensboro has a poor bus system, no bike lanes, and “the zoning is awful.”

“We really want to get involved here in Greensboro,” Hampton said. “It’s not all about going to D.C.”