College students work to develop knowledge and opinions, and during a time of war, passions flare and manifest themselves in rallies, debates and gatherings. It was this way in the ’60s and ’70s, and SLU students have kept up the traditions of protest and debate recently, since the first murmurs of war on Iraq began last semester.
The College Republicans have led the pro-war, and now pro-troops, movements on campus, beginning soon after the anti-war group, SLU Instead of War Coalition was formed from members of various groups such as Amnesty International and J.U.S.T.I.C.E.
A St. Louis wide organization, Instead of War, has held rallies and protests throughout the city. SLU students began noticing each other at IOW’s earliest events last semester, according to senior Pete Mosher, and began to coordinate carpools. These beginnings blossomed into a campus-wide movement, which has included speakers and on-campus actions, such as the 48-hour vigil at the clock tower, following the first bombs that fell on Iraq.
“This is a very historical, world issue. I want people to take a side and not be apathetic,” Mosher said.
Senior Lubna Alam, of SLU IOW, “For me, although the war happened, I think it’s important to get students thinking about issues surrounding the war.”
Alam said that sometimes, the purposes of IOW and the College Republicans are hard to discern from one another.
“When counter-protesters would be waving American flags, I though they were part of our crowd … we support the United States too!” Alam said.
The College Republicans have brought a military veteran to speak on campus, and have been visible flying American flags during counter-protests to support the troops. Nick Pistor, a senior, has been involved with the College Republicans’ efforts on campus all school year. He emphasized the difference between how IOW and the College Republicans “support the troops.” He explained that he believes one cannot separate supporting the troops from agreeing with what the troops do for their livelihood–serve in the military and sometimes fight in wars. Pistor added that the College Republicans “believe that Bush has the morality to (make decisions about) waging war on Iraq.”
Both sides agreed that, overall, demonstrations and opinions have coexisted peacefully, with both sides listening to what the other had to say. “Of course there were very a few, some who really are only interested in yelling or throwing things in our direction … On the other hand, we had a many, many more people join us, stop by to say they supported us, or bring us food or drinks,” Mosher said. Mosher emphasized that there are similarities between the two groups.
“I think everyone agrees that Iraq would be better without Saddam Hussein. We all want to establish a safer, more peaceful world, our ideas about methods just differ,” Mosher said.
