As the global debate about a potential war in Iraq continues, a number of students at Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist Church institution, are registering their opposition.
As the global debate about a potential war in Iraq continues, a number of students at Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist Church institution, are registering their opposition. More than 200 students, faculty, staff and administration at the school—which has a student body of over 2,000 and approximately 200 faculty—have signed a “peace statement” that will be published in a student newspaper this week, and then sent to representatives in Congress and to the White House.
While endorsing and encouraging the free-speech rights of faculty and students, Andrews is not taking an official position on the war issue or the peace initiative, said Tami K. Martinez, university relations director.
The South Bend Tribune, a newspaper published in neighboring Indiana, noted the initiative in its news columns, and organizers said they have received a generally supportive response. Organizers said they went online to solicit support for the statement.
“The students that I have approached, or [who have] gotten the e-mail, have been interested, even if they haven’t agreed,” said Alexander Carpenter, a senior who leads the campus Peace Club. “I’ve only had two really belligerently negative responses,” he added.
Shandelle M. Henson, an associate professor of mathematics, said, “I personally have had almost completely positive reaction as I’ve dealt with the faculty. There’s been very little negative reaction that I know of.”
The statement claims “no compelling evidence has been offered of an imminent threat to our security that would justify the use of military force” in Iraq, and adds “we believe that the decision to wage war at this time is morally unacceptable, and urge our government not to make it.” Carpenter told ANN the Peace Club adapted its statment from one issued by “Against the War,” an ad hoc organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
At the same time, the statement notes, “We condemn the Iraqi regime for its gross and persistent violations of the human rights of the Iraqi and Kurdish peoples, and support efforts by the Iraqi opposition to create a democratic, multiethnic and multireligious Iraq.”
Asked if the statement was designed to oppose U.S. and U.K. service members and non-combatants in the Iraqi theatre, both Henson and Carpenter said no.
“I have the highest respect for the young men and women who serve in the military,” Henson said.
Andrews has become a center of activity about the impending conflict. Along with the peace statement, the university hosted former Washington Post columnist and noted anti-war activist Colman McCarthy on Feb. 20, and the English Department held a formal debate on the Iraq issue Feb. 6. According to both Martinez and Carpenter, interest in that debate was high; Carpenter said the “peace” side of the debate, in which he spoke, was favored by the majority of the students who attended.
After publishing the statement, Carpenter said the Peace Club will hold a design contest to create a T-shirt to be available for sale at the school, and the group hopes to organize a benefit concert to raise money for Adventist Christians in Iraq.
On Thursday, Martinez said, a school assembly will be devoted to a discussion of issues surrounding peace and war. Juan Perla, who works in the school’s public relations department, and who signed the peace statement, will moderate the panel. Panelists will include Dr. Keith Mattingly, chair, Department of Religion; Dr. Marciana Popescu, associate professor of social work; and Dr. John Markovic, associate professor of history.
According to a news release from the university relations office, the panel discussion will be sponsored by the school’s International Development Program.
“We want Andrews students to understand that public discourse is the way we create our social realities, and without it we are stuck living in a world that is not our own,” said Jane Sabes, associate professor of political science and faculty advisor to the peace club.
Also as part of this initiative, the IDP is coordinating a communication campaign entitled “Peace for Development” to propose social and economic development as a valid alternative to war.
“Peace is a necessary component for successful development, and in turn, development promotes and ensures peace,” said Øystein LaBianca, senior director of the IDP.