Students join in opposition to war in Iraq

The concept of fighting for peace has an oxy-moronic ring to it, at least in nomenclature. But this Monday, students and faculty protested political action against Iraq in a rally held on the Tisch library patio. A new Tufts organization, the "Tufts Coalition to Oppose the War in Iraq" was created a few weeks ago, as the issue of war with Iraq became more prominent in the media, and as President Bush indicated that he wanted the US to become more aggressive.

The group is still establishing its identity and has no strict hierarchy or precise meeting schedule. Its members have placed more of an emphasis on the message and the meaning of their fight than about the structure of the organization.

Current events have helped the organization to quickly mobilize in their goal of taking action to show strong opposition to the pro-war movement.

"I am just very happy that this group has started," senior Rebecca Batchelder said. "I am looking forward to showing my opposition."

The birth of the group occurred through the motivation of Gary Goldstein, a professor in the Physics Department, who wrote an email about his disagreement on Bush's foreign policy that was circulated among students and University faculty members. As people became progressively more committed to the issue, the a group of students and faculty sprang into action.

Many of the students stumbled upon the first meeting on Sept. 25 by chance, while others sought a political group that could give them a voice to express their opposition to the war.

"I found out thanks to a friend," Batchelder said. "It begins with a few students against war and now is still forming itself."

Faculty who have involved themselves in the group say the interaction of professors and students on an important topic in scoiety is what education is all about.

"As educators, we had the responsibility of warning people and teaching them on this political issue," he said.

"As a professor, I think it is important to teach political engagement," Sociology Professor Paul Joseph said.

At the forefront of the group's focus is the argument that the reasons given by politicians to legitimate the war are false. According to the group, it is necessary to show people that there is no credible evidence that Iraq as a nation had anything to do with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

As a nation, Iraq is suffering crippling sanctions imposed by the US, and those opposed to the war believe that it cannot constitute a significant threat to the US. Officials in foreign countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, could be potentially be victims of Iraqi Scud missiles, yet, unlike the US, they do not feel threatened by Iraq and oppose an attack, the group members say.

All these arguments aim at uncovering the alleged conspiracy and the lack of objectivity of both the government and the media, stresses the group. "Lately I read that the Bush administration was worried because Iraq is possibly buying uranium from Africa," Goldstein said. "As a physician, I can tell you that even if it's true, it would take them three to five years to do anything with it."

The group is also displeased with the media's portrayal of the situation, questioning why Al Gore's anti-attack comments hit the 14th page of The Boston Globe, whereas any Bush quote stating the same month-old information hits the front page day after day.

Needless to say, many of the members of the group are opposed to the idea of war in itself. Goldstein had already been fighting against the war in Afghanistan when Bush began hinting at an attack on Iraq. "It is a year now since I have been busily involved in political actions, calling my congressmen and my senators," he said.

Joseph chose to parallel fighting against war in Vietnam in 1963 to the present opposition, giving what many believe to be his strongest argument. "The violence that accompanies war is wide-spread," he said, "and it is always worse than the positive goals of the war."

One of the group's largest hurdles in forming into a cohesive unit is not in regard to differences in commonalities and reasons for opposition, but in finding the strongest rhetoric that will motivate people to act.

"Our main goal is teaching," Professor Carol Linch of the English Department said.

Indeed, the group is eager to organize further action both on- and off-campus. Ideas and propositions erupt from all sides. There is also a concern about relating to their audience _ the group wants to clearly express its messages without seeming too arrogant or dogmatic?

Once the group has achieved its goals on the homefront, it hopes to move off-campus. "Even though we focus on more campus actions, we also want to educate outside campus," senior Erin Dwyer said.

The group is indeed very concerned with what is going on in the Boston area, as well as in New York and Washington DC. Members are quick to point to peace demonstrations in New York and anti-war protests that are being planned for later this October.

In broadening its focus, the Tufts Coalition to Oppose the War in Iraq is looking forward to getting in contact with other student campus organizations from other schools, as well as peace groups from Somerville and Medford. Right now, an online petition opposing a military attack against Iraq is being spread among college campuses. The petition was written by a professor at the University of Minnesota and gained hundreds of signatures there before Nancy Kanwisher, a professor of cognitive neurosciences at MIT, put it on the Internet. It has since gained over 3,000 signatures from students and academics around the country.

The group also hopes to reach out to the Tufts community and engage it in a debate about the war in Iraq.

"The political action is the responsibility of the citizens, no matter who you are," Joseph said. "You need to be politically engaged."

Julia Lifschultz and Jane Shtilman contributed to this article.