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Area university students seem indifferent to war
by Matthew Epstein TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
Saturday, Mar. 22, 2003 at 12:56 PM
As weekly peace marchers set off across the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus, it�s apparent the war they are fervently protesting doesn�t grip the student body the way Vietnam did a generation ago.
Area university students seem indifferent to war
By MATTHEW EPSTEIN, TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT EDUCATION WRITER
March 19, 2003
INDIANA � These aren�t their parents� war protesters.
As weekly peace marchers set off across the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus, it�s apparent the war they are fervently protesting doesn�t grip the student body the way Vietnam did a generation ago.
Most students seem to feel they don�t have a stake in the matter, protesters said. Of the more than 15,000 college students in the Johnstown region, only about two dozen have been called to active duty.
�Most people we talk to tend to be reluctant to form an opinion either way,� said Celeste Bocchicchio, 21, a junior from Kent, Ohio, who is steering committee coordinator for Voices for Peace, an IUP student group.
Yesterday, with just 24 hours left before President Bush�s deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war, Voices for Peace mustered about 50 people for its weekly march. Many of those 50 were community members, not students.
�I really believe these students need to get fully involved,� said Patricia Rawls of Indiana, who declined to give her age.
Rawls is not a student, but she joined them yesterday in her �no blood for oil� T- shirt. �It�s going to affect their future,� she said.
While many students politely accepted the fliers, only a few stopped to debate the war. There was also a heckler during the two-hour rally on the Oak Grove, the central space of the IUP campus.
�Nothing too terrible,� Bocchicchio said. � �Cut your hair,� �get a job,� �go back to Iraq.� �
One person shouted �you should die with the rest of them,� she said.
The apparent apathy probably has something to do with the fact that few students know anybody who has been deployed.
About two dozen students have deployed from area colleges since the semester started, some to Iraq and others to Kosovo, where the Pennsylvania National Guard is assigned to peacekeeping duties.
�Being deployed for the military is an admirable thing,� David Wilson, St. Francis University director of counseling and health services, said in a telephone interview from his Loretto office.
As is the case at other colleges, St. Francis administrators have tried to give their deploying students as smooth a transition as possible.
Soldiers called out of classes get a penalty-free withdraw no matter how late in the semester, along with a full tuition refund.
Room and board fees are refunded to the extent they haven�t been used. If it is late enough in a semester, faculty will often work out a way for student to get credit by completing their tests or papers.
But the work has to go fast.
�For two of the three who were called up, one came in and said, �I�m leaving this week,� � Jon Gonder, associate vice president for academic affairs at University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, said in a telephone interview from his Richland Township office. �Another came in and said, �I got my papers today, I�m leaving tomorrow.� �
All three UPJ students called up are serving in Kosovo.
Mount Aloysius College in Cresson had two students called up, along with the husband of a staffer. Two more students are awaiting orders.
IUP had a dozen students called up out of more than 12,000.
Campus officials are staying out of the anti-war fray, what there is of it.
At St. Francis, the administration has tried to organize a show of support for the deployed soldiers. At IUP, the protest is tolerated as any other political event would be.
�We�re glad to have students protest reasonably, as long as they are respectful in their discourse,� IUP spokeswoman Michelle Fryling said in an interview at the university.
The protesters there say they support the military, just not it�s mission.
�I wasn�t going to join if I had found people were anti-American,� said Tony Bezich, 40, an IUP graduate student in political science and former army officer from Slickville, Westmoreland County.
�Everyone I�ve met loves this country and is deeply concerned with the troops overseas,� he said.
Voices for Peace members said they are taking their support where they can find it. Bezich said he voted for Bush, but opposed the idea of a pre-emptive war. Some students said they are pacifists, while others said they had a problem with the path taken to this war, which now seems a certainty.
�I�m opposed to unjust war,� said Joe Santamaria, 21, a junior from Harrisburg. �If we had visible proof � I would be in favor of the war.�
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indifference by local students
by red predator
Saturday, Mar. 22, 2003 at 3:53 PM
you are confusing indifference with maturity. this should show you how far on the extreme left fringe you are. you can protest until you are blue in the face. you are IRRELEVENT! you are anti-American! you can go straight to hell! red predator
red, you are an idiot
by one informed american
Saturday, Mar. 22, 2003 at 9:59 PM
Listen, red. I love america. But this war is unjust. I am not anti-american, i am anti-bush administration. If that makes me anti-american in your book, then you dont know the first thing about being an american. It is your duty to question the actions of the government, to make sure that they are kept in line. You do know that it is supposed to be OUR government? "Of the people, by the people, and for the people." That is why they are SUPPOSED to listen when we have something to say. That is why WE vote for them. We vote for they guy who promises to be the best for us that he can be, no? So then isn't it your duty to make sure the guy does what he promised? If you are a mindless drone who takes whatever bush says for truth, then you are one sad american. You obviously didnt even read the who article to see that people were saying specifically that they were NOT anti-american. If you knew anything about why they were protesting, you would see that the protests are in support of america and in support of our troops. This war was unnessasary and avoidable, and our boys should not have to fight it. What better way to support our troops then to want them home?
Secondly, if you knew your history, you would know that it was us who sold the chemicals to Saddam Hussein to make the very weapons that we are now trying so hard to destroy. Not only that, but we also supported his use of them against the Iranians AND against the Kurds. Why was it ok for him to use them when it was against someone we didnt like? I thought bush said that no one should be able to inflict that kind of thing on anyone? Did i just uncover some hypocracy here?
I'll let you think about that one, son.
from an informed american
Here's some educational material
by New World Odor
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 6:16 AM
Educate yourselves a little...
The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2233.htm
About Red Predator
by Theo
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 10:46 AM
TheoK444@aol.com
Guys, i think we should all simple ignore Red Predator. It's a waste of time even acknowledging his comments. He doesn't have an argument, he doesn't have a point, he's just pissed off. All he does is hurl childish insults. His comments are not worth the time it takes to type a response. Don't dignify them with a response.
yes
by Evan N
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 11:01 AM
From now on i will ignore all hecklers comments on here. I'm not going to advocate banning them, but see how long they stick around when no one responds
about red predator
by red predator
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 3:14 PM
to theok444 and evan: the real reason you won't respond is you have no argument against the truth. your ilk can tolerate no opposing viewpoints. like I said, you people are deluded, useful idiots. RED PREDATOR
red predator
by Sam
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 4:03 PM
red, you're confusing maturity with ignorance and fear.
hidden comments
by pgh imc editorial
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 4:45 PM
info@indypgh.org
Red Predator: your comments will continue to be hidden as long as they contain threats and racist/sexist/homophobic statements. Please refrain from making posts with no information other than threats.
apathy
by susyzimzel
Sunday, Mar. 23, 2003 at 5:16 PM
susyzimzel@yahoo.com
There are many factors to consider as far as student apathy goes. To a large extent, I think corporate media is to blame, because in many cases the negative aspects of our government and the issues are hidden or ignored. For the most part people can hide behind the empty rhetoric of this being a just war in the name of freeing the Iraqis, or in the notion that our government has pure or decent intentions, or knows things we aren't aware of, etc. Also, most students probably won't be upset enough to do anything until this war impacts them directly, i.e. loss of friends or loved ones in the military, or a return of the draft or something of that nature...It also occurs to me that perhaps people are jaded and cynical at the prospect of being able to bring about change because of GWB's blatant refusal to acknowledge opposition to war, or something of that nature. I do find it a bit troubling that some people just don't care, but for the most part I have noticed an increase in awareness of my friends and acquaintances now that war has actually begun and people realize the consequences.
Why apathy?
by Sam
Monday, Mar. 24, 2003 at 1:40 PM
I think the corporate media are mostly to blame. If coverage were truly balanced, I guarantee many more people would oppose the war.
Not Apathy...
by George K.
Monday, Mar. 24, 2003 at 5:47 PM
dodgerambler@yahoo.com
The students are not apathetic. You are confusing apathy for support!! You are all a little too disappointed to acknowledge this fact, maybe. You are missing the point that college students have a life that does not always revolve around activism and worrying about "dubya". Have you polled the student populace and found out the actual statistical support for the facets of your arguements? Probably not.
I would contend that many in the student population support the governments actions in the international arena, and do not support your views.
hidden comments
by silverfox
Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2003 at 3:15 PM
what threats? because rp calls attention to the scum who are trying to destroy the USA? sorry, but you people are not only wrong, you are reality challenged, mentally ill, and morally bankrupt. hooray for REAL Americans like red predator. silverfox
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