The United States’ military presence in Iraq has angered many anti-war students on campus, and they are rallying together in protest, a sight that has become common since the start of the war two weeks ago.
Students for Peace is sponsoring a student walkout at 2:30 p.m. Thursday to protest war with Iraq and President George W. Bush and his administration. A rally is also scheduled for 3 p.m. at the EMU Amphitheater, which will include student and faculty speakers, poetry and music. Afterward, protesters will march at 4 p.m. to the Federal Building on Seventh Avenue, coinciding with the second monthly Bikes Not Bombs protest.
Students for Peace, a political student group on campus, is critical of the war and is not letting up its effort to protest the conflict. In a recent news release, the group stated: “George Bush is a war criminal … and should be indicted for war crimes.” The statement went on to say that the U.S. government is guilty of the same crimes that Nazi leaders were prosecuted for during the Nuremberg Trials, and that the USA PATRIOT Act — which the government said is meant to rid the country of possible terrorists — is assaulting civil liberties.
“Historic figures like Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. could easily be labeled terrorists,” the statement said. “Students for Peace refuses to succumb to the fear these laws mean to instill.”
Students for Peace coordinator Alex Gonzalez said people are nervous about speaking out against the war with troops stationed in the Middle East, but it is possible to support troops without supporting the government.
“I believe that a majority of students oppose the war,” he said.
University College Republicans Chairman Jarrett White agreed with Gonzalez that a majority of University students oppose the war, but the proportion is not fiercely one-way.
“They try to make it out to be more significant. It’s more like 50-50,” he said. “Students have a lot of opportunities to express their views.”
White added that while some people make jokes about President George W. Bush, it is stupid and wrong for a student group to include extremely critical comments as part of an official statement.
“These people — all they are — are anti-American,” White said. “Equating Bush with Nazis is pathetic.”
The Students for Peace statement also said the U.S. government is guilty of not abiding with United Nations’ resolutions that prohibit certain aggressive actions by countries.
“The Bush administration has violated international law and constitutional law,” Gonzalez said.
White said he does not think it is necessary for the United States to follow all U.N. resolutions if Iraq does not do the same.
“What’s the point of having resolutions if Iraq is not going to uphold them,” he said.
According to the protest news release, Students for Peace is sponsoring the event in conjunction with protests around the world to oppose the Bush administration’s “brutal policies.”