Sticking to convictions

The Tufts Coalition to Oppose War in Iraq has reverted to name-changing and other PR stunts to attract students back to the coalition that last March assumed a prominent role on campus.

Major combat operations in Iraq ended on May 2, so it is time to change the name from the Tufts Coalition to Oppose War in Iraq to an updated moniker, such as the Tufts Coalition to Oppose American Occupation of Iraq (TCOAOI). But will changing the name actually attract any more students to join the two dozen who remain members of TCOWI?

It is unlikely that any name change, or a more catchy acronym, will bring students back to the coalition in its current protest efforts. The problem is that the war started and ended and is now history, and Tufts students who opposed the war have left the pavement at Government Center and returned to their carrels in Tisch Library and computers in Eaton. Why? Did they feel that their failure to stop the American-led invasion of Iraq meant they could not succeed at anything? Or did they just get bored? Or was protesting against war the cool thing to do last spring?

In Europe, as in the US, record-breaking crowds jammed the streets of capital cities this spring to condemn the American march to war in Iraq. The difference, though, is that European opposition to the war has not fizzled out: on Sept. 28, thousands marched in the streets of London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, and Istanbul to protest the American occupation of Iraq. The crowds have shrunk from their astounding sizes, but dissent, dialogue, and debate are still strong.

Political activism at Tufts is fired up with great difficulty, and quickly dies out. It is simply a "cause of the day activism," even for an international issue as significant as war. TCOWI does need to change its name because the US is no longer waging war in Iraq, even if American soldiers are still lost daily. But the more important issue is the vanished protesters. Students who oppose the President's foreign policy should find time to form positions outside of class, let their voice be heard and, most importantly, stick by their convictions.