SGR organizes teach-in on the War in Iraq

The Students for Global Responsibility (SGR) sponsored a teach-in last Thursday, Oct. 24 regarding the possible war in Iraq. Six speakers representing various opinions and organizations gathered in the SAC along with interested Blair students.

The first speaker, Edward Qubain, represented Peace Action, an organization dedicated to "the abolition of nuclear weapons, the development of a peace-oriented economy, an end to the international weapons trade, and [it] promotes non-military solutions to international conflicts."

The next speaker, Hanaa Rifaey, was from the The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) which works toward "empowering Arab Americans; defending the civil rights of all people of Arab heritage in the United States; promoting civic participation; encouraging a balanced U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and supporting freedom and development in the Arab World."

Kevin Moose, a Social Studies teacher here at Blair and co-sponsor of SGR, spoke next. SGR asked Moose to fill in for two Pro-War speakers: John Harwood, the national political editor for The Wall Street Journal, and Private Ben Keller U.S. Army. Moose "does not think that we should go to war at this time. But if the American Public is given enough evidence and Congress votes and decides to, then we should go to war."

Sarah Sloan of Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) spoke after Moose. A.N.S.W.E.R. organized the march that took place last Saturday, and this teach-in was "scheduled on Thursday for the protest," says Nathaniel Pancost, a Blair Senior and member of SGR.

Melissa Pardue of the Heritage Foundation then spoke. The Heritage Foundation is a think tank based in Washington D.C. whose mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."

George Vlasits, Blair's AP U.S. History teacher and co-sponsor of SGR, was the last speaker. Vlasits had already voiced his opinion at the debate sponsored by the Student Republican Club on Tuesday, but at the teach-in he elaborated on his theory for the motive behind the war: "This war is not about fighting terrorism or eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is about oil and empire."

After the speakers were done, SGR opened the floor to questions. The majority of these were slanted against the war, reflecting the general sentiment in the room.

The crowd was not, however, all against the war. "I'm for war totally," says Blair Junior Jackie Hussein, "but we have so much going on . . . . We don't have the resources or the money."

Blair senior Sara Eldridge attended and left the teach-in anti-war, but found it informative. "It gave me something to consider," she says, "but I'm still anti-war. I don't think the Bush administration has given enough strong evidence to warrant a war in Iraq. I don't think good would come of it and we should try diplomacy first."

Hussein liked the format of the teach-in. "I'm not hearing from politicians who are biased and don't care. I'm hearing real research from my backyard."

As for the SGR members themselves, they felt somewhat frustrated "I'm upset that so many speakers didn't show," says Pancost. In addition to the two mentioned above, a representative of the State Department and the Reverend Graylan Haigler were unable to attend.

"I'm sorry that it ended up so one sided," he adds. At one point during the question and answer period, Sloan appended an answer with: "Everyone in this room hates Bush right?" Pancost was disappointed with her in particular. "These A.N.S.W.E.R. people, the leftist groups, speak at these things as if they were a rally. They shouldn't."

But Pancost and senior Rachel Yood, organizer of the event, were ultimately pleased. "We set out to get a lot of people to realize it's an issue they should care about," says Pancost. Yood adds, "It was a success."