Walkout makes no sense

On Tuesday afternoon, I was handed a flyer exclaiming, "NO MORE BUSINESS AS USUAL!" This flyer encourages students to "walkout" on their regularly scheduled classes on the first day of war with Iraq, and proceed to Goddard Chapel for "demonstrations and teach-ins debating the war." I have generally maintained an interest in the activity of protestors on the Tufts campus, but this is by far the silliest thing I have ever encountered.

First of all, the statement that this group is trying to make involves walking out on class. I, however, do not see any need to walk out of class to "discuss" the war. It makes no sense that I should skip my math class which is running at about $200 or more per session (do the math...its astonishing) to gather with people who will basically sit around and talk about how the cost of their freedom is too high (I am trying my hardest to keep my political views out of this). This altruistic gathering can easily be held on a weekend, during an open block, or all throughout a school day if protestors feel it necessary_but there is absolutely no reason to make cutting class part of the protest.

Secondly, this proposed gathering intends to "debate the war," yet the flyer also says that, "we will create a space for dialogue and discussion for our Tufts Community, which is deeply skeptical of the necessity or justice of such a war." So, not only have the authors assumed that the entire community is skeptical of the war, they have also contradicted the notion that there will actually be any "debate" at this demonstration, with the exception of, "is this war bad? Or terrible? Discuss..."

I challenge the authors of this flyer and organizers of this event to come up with a more educationally efficient way of discussing this important issue. It seems to me that the purpose of college is to learn, and by walking out of classes and going to an event in which ideas will not be challenged, and instead people will just be sitting around stroking their activist egos, the only consequence will be a disruption of the learning environment. If you want to educate, hold an organized debate with representatives from both sides, and an open discussion, and hold it at a convenient time that doesn't interfere with the classes we've paid to attend. I have not yet made my decision on the necessity of this war_I could really benefit from a truly educational forum. If you create such a gathering, I will be there with bells on.

In conclusion, walking out of class is silly, and attending a forum which is "deeply skeptical" is sillier.

Arun Lamba is a senior majoring in Economics and Physics.