Tonight a panel of conscientious objectors from World War II will talk about their experiences — from going to prison to becoming “medical guinea pigs,” Eugene Peaceworks representative Phil Weaver said.
The panel will follow a showing of the PBS documentary “The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It,” which discusses how World War II conscientious objectors’ courage applies to today’s world events.
After the panel, the UO Cultural Forum will show a human rights video about the war in Afghanistan. The event begins at 6:45 p.m. in 180 PLC, and there is a sliding scale of $1 to $5 for admission.
The Justice Not War Coalition, composed of community groups such as the Fair Trade Coalition and the Pacific Green Party, as well as University group Students for Peace, organized the evening’s event. The coalition formed as a response to the Sept. 11 attacks and the subsequent retaliation, Weaver said.
“Local groups in Eugene decided to get together and challenge the idea that military action was the appropriate response,” he said.
While each organization’s and individual’s objection to the war varies, Justice Not War members agree President Bush’s response to the attacks on the East Coast was hasty, Weaver said.
“It almost seemed like a knee-jerk reaction of revenge … and a war-cry put out by the Bush administration,” he said.
Last term, Students for Peace and some members of Justice Not War responded to their frustrations with U.S. retaliation by organizing marches every Friday from the EMU Amphitheater to the Eugene Federal Building. At the beginning of the term, up to 80 people marched, Diehl said. But recently, attendance has dwindled to about 20 participants.
Member Marc Moscato said he is frustrated with the marches because he doesn’t think protests achieve the group’s goals.
“What will a protest in Eugene, Ore., do?” the graduate arts and administration student asked. “I was enthusiastic last year, but you just feel so powerless.”
A general sense of frustration is one of the reasons Students for Peace is shifting its focus away from protesting and more toward educational events similar to tonight’s panel and documentary, members said.
“We need to educate and get some good dialogue going,” Students for Peace member Stuart Diehl said.
Ultimately, Students for Peace wants to involve students and raise their awareness that the media’s coverage may not be entirely accurate.
“Many students on campus are happy with what NBC tells us,” said Diehl, a sophomore environmental studies major. “They’re not aware that NBC is owned by General Electric, which makes bombs and military supplies.”
He added that he hopes to highlight the biases he sees, even if it makes people uncomfortable.
“People are warm in their houses. … Hopefully we can change that.”
Diehl, Moscato and Weaver all emphasized that bombing innocent people is not the best way to bring suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden to justice.
“We’re exasperating the situation,” Weaver said. “We need to take a look at why the world is upset with U.S. foreign policy.”
A counselor from the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors in Oakland, Calif., will also be at tonight’s event to discuss people’s options for avoiding a possible draft, Weaver said.
Members of Students for Peace encourage students to come to their meetings at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the EMU Skylight.