Change's ideas called for a 'transformation'

She handed out flyers to anyone willing to read them and would explain her views if passersby took the time to stop and talk. Through her often-daily performances on campus for the past 15 years, Kathy Change constantly attempted to make her presence known to the entire University community. But through her death, Change hoped to draw attention to many of the political ideas she had struggled to publicize. Change was both the founder and leader of the Transformation Party, which promoted the complete overhaul of the current political system. "The government must be replaced by a truly democratic self-government of, for and by the people," Change wrote in a letter dated October 7. She advocated that the entire country's population convene to plan and form her ideal government. For this to occur, she said, workers in essential industries would form an "emergency economy," temporarily freeing everyone else to discuss the new political system. She called the switch to her ideal government "the transformation." But unlike some political revolutionaries, Change wanted her transformation to come about through non-violent reform. Her writings reflected the deep concern she had regarding several global problems, which she felt were caused by "the oppressive geopolitical system." She wrote that she feared U.S.-Iraq hostilities would escalate into a world-wide nuclear holocaust. The environmental crisis and repression throughout the world also drew the activist's attention. In her October 7 letter, Change also summarized her views on death, explaining that she saw it as natural, not necessarily as a tragedy. "I do not want to live off of this evil society any longer," she wrote. "I demand that life must meet a standard of true morality or else it is not worth living." Change did not see her death as a form of giving up on her work, but rather as a way to further promote her ideals and cause, her writings assert. Although she thought negatively of American society, her work was based on the notion that "only the American people have the power to change this global system of abuse, and therefore, it is their responsibility to do so." She legally altered her last name from Chang to Change to reflect her commitment to political reform. During her 15 years protesting near the University campus, Change won notoriety for dancing on Locust Walk near College Green, waving banners emblazoned with slogans from her political program and playing loud audio tapes. A friend of Change's who asked to remain anonymous explained that he originally met her on the street and "we struck up a friendship." "She was a very talented, very bright and very disturbed woman with an extremely good heart," he said.

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