If war were a Valentine’s date, it would be too expensive to take out to a fancy restaurant. Too violent, too demanding and not really sensitive enough for any of us seeking that healthiest of healthy relationships.
So it seems like our date with the war in Iraq is about to come to a dinner-fumbling, door-slamming, kiss-rejecting end. The “romance” is over, and UCLA students are back on the market again.
Now you’re probably reading this asking yourself, “When did UCLA ever go on a date with the war in Iraq?” Truth is, they’ve been going out for a while, and UCLA has been smitten for some time. According to the UC Office of the Treasurer’s list of public holdings by company, the UC system has invested $30 million (some of which comes from us, the students) in L-3 Communications, a company that USA Today and many other news outlets have named as providing interrogators and logistics at Abu Ghraib.
Did you know that the Department of Defense relies on recruiting UCLA students like us to continue the occupation? Or that many students are involved in research projects and programs whose outcomes are used primarily by the military? Or that the state of California prioritizes funding war over funding health care or education and that our tuition may be raised yet again as a result? Sounds like the war has simply been using us, and it’s about time we decided to call the whole thing off. According to the Daily Bruin, UCLA students overwhelmingly said Iraq is the most important issue facing voters in 2008. While many different issues command our attention as students and as Americans, we must acknowledge the resource-draining and debilitating occupation of Iraq as the most pressing concern America faces ““ now, and once the elections are over. It is inspiring to see so many of our peers already recognizing this, but recognition must solidify into opposition. So what do you say we dump the war and follow our hearts ““ and our brains?
Just think of what students have done with this relationship in the past. For example, students were going out with war eight years ago in Yugoslavia. Not only did they dump the war, but the student organization Otpor led a resistance that helped invigorate the drive against then-ruling dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Or how about when student protests in May 1970 against the Nixon administration’s military forays into Southeast Asia ended up canceling classes in nearly 100 colleges nationwide? More recently, did you know that students here at UCLA less than three years ago, in conjunction with others across the state, pressured the UC system to divest from companies fueling the genocide in Darfur?
But what about our current relationship? What can we do about our involvement with this war? And how can it best be effective? (All very important questions in any transitioning relationship.) That’s why there are support groups. Many students from all across the country and campus have come together to end this relationship. This past November, hundreds of high school students walked out of class across Washington state to rally against the war and in support of more education funding. More recently, UC Berkeley students and local community members came together with the Berkeley City Council in a widely reported decision to pass a declaration denouncing military recruiters. Here at UCLA, students got together in November to rally against the war and instead promoted peace and education.
These and many other “dates” have been rapidly popping up all over the country, and we need to make sure they continue. Truth is, students can make a difference. It’s been five long years, UCLA. Sometimes it’s best to realize that the “special someone” just doesn’t cut it, and it really is best to move on to better days. This Valentine’s Day weekend, from North and South Campus to sorority row to Pauley Pavilion to Meyerhoff Park, dump the war and take hold of your voice for the intimate, loving, caring relationship we all know we want and all know we can have ““ with peace.
Shaw cofounded the Coalition for Peace and is also a member of SDS and E3 as well as serving as the Cultural Affairs Commissioner on USAC. Weisberg is a member of the Coalition for Peace. Fries is a member of E3: Ecology, Economy, Equity. Shulman is a member of Students for a Democratic Society.