It was a cheerful tone for a war protest.
Milling through the EMU Amphitheater, students were greeted with cheers of “Happy Iraq invasion!” while bumping their heads to Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA” and munching on a frosted cake depicting a map of the Middle East.
Yet Wednesday’s event — billed as a commemoration of the Iraq War — was not intended to make light of America’s ongoing intervention in the Middle East, event organizer Mitch Monsour said. The objective was to engage students in a constructive discussion about how their tax dollars are being spent.
“The satire is to say, ‘Look, no one is paying attention,’” said Monsour, a member of Students Against Empire, which co-sponsored the event. “Meanwhile, tuition rates are going up. People don’t have health care. And it’s linked to all this wasteful spending.”
Students appeared to enjoy the party-like atmosphere, taking turns posing for photographs next to cardboard cutouts of U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Some stood on the periphery, discussing their points of view on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Others took flyers and pamphlets decrying the role of U.S. interventionism abroad and kept walking to their respective classrooms.
Native Iraqi and University student Awab Al-rawe was grateful for the event. Regardless of its tone, at least the satirical protest gave students the opportunity to be conscious of U.S. actions abroad, Aware said, talking over blaring background music and enticing cries of “Free cake!”
“I can honestly say that 90 percent of the people I’ve met here don’t have a clear image of what is happening right now,” Al-rawe said.
But the event was not without controversy, despite its non-confrontational nature.
Political science professor Jane Cramer thought educating students about U.S. interventionism through satire seemed like a desperate attempt to engage the University community.
“I think it’s unfortunate they think they have to go this far,” Cramer said. “My fear for a satirical tone is that you end up only preaching to the converted. It could very well offend many people.”
But Cramer did agree with the underlying message: Students need to be better educated in U.S. foreign policy. Despite students expressing the desire to learn more about U.S. policy in the Middle East, Cramer explained, the University offers few courses on the subject.
“Students have no idea, no conception, of how much money we are really spending on this,” Cramer said. “This money is our money. This is real money. You could have free education and health care for those who can’t currently afford it, instead of these overseas wars.”
As an Army veteran of the Afghanistan War, University student Sean Nack expressed irritation at a student organization parodying the conflicts overseas, calling it disrespectful to those affected.
“War is a deadly, serious thing,” Nack said. “I’ve seen people die … I don’t think there’s much to be satirized there.”
Nack also felt the U.S. policy of interventionism was based on moral grounds, calling the protest’s message idealistic.
“It’s really easy for college students to have those opinions … because they can afford to have those opinions,” Nack said. “If you’ve never been punched in the nose, then it’s easy to believe in non-violence.”
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