Tuesday, October 8, 2002

by Mary Harrison
Gazette News Reporter

Thousands of people, including some 60 Swarthmore students, gathered in Central
Park’s East
Meadow Sunday to express their opposition to U.S. involvement in a military
operation
against Iraq.

Organized by the activist group “Not In Our Name,” the demonstration featured a
succession
of speakers representing many different causes but united by their concern over
the
possibility of a forceful intervention in Iraq. The speakers, who included such
prominent
figures as Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Masuda Sultan, who lost
family members in
the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan, and Saul Williams, a poet and musician, raised
such issues
as the threat of a burgeoning U.S. imperialism, restrictions on civil liberties,
and the
danger of sparking a nuclear conflict.

Many of those who took the podium likened war to “a weapon of mass distraction,”
used to
turn public attention away from more immediate issues, such as the sluggish
economy.

A number of speakers had connections to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
One woman, who
lost a relative in the attacks, called for the President to rethink his current
course of
action, while a statement written by Ground Zero rescue workers decried any
further violence
that would result from last year’s tragedy.

The Swatties in attendance had been driven up in a venture organized by “Why
War?”

Organizer Andrew Main ’05 was pleased with the diversity of groups represented
at the rally.

“If we’re going to succeed, we have to reach out to a diverse group, and not
[as] a
coalition of groups, but one group united against this issue,” said Main. “The
Vietnam War
didn’t end until middle-class people in their suburban homes said ‘Hey. What’s
going on?'”

Popular and political figures alike urged for a mass mobilization, including the
widespread
dissemination of information on the issue. “Call your friends,” said actress
Susan Sarandon.
“Make trouble.”

One major focus of the demonstration was the reading of the “Pledge of
Resistance”, which
concludes with the lines: “Another world is possible / and we pledge to make it
real.”

Several students described being directly affected by the events of the day.

“I went to the protest not really informed or concerned about the war” said
Raghu Karnad ‘
05. “But I heard opinions expressed with such sophistication and such passion
that I came
back feeling very strongly indeed.”

*****

The Amos J. Peaslee Debate Society sent 16 debaters to the annual tournament at
American
University this weekend, and came back with a bundle of individual and team
accolades.
Competing against squads from Columbia, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown, amongst
others, the
team’s frosh contingent had a particularly strong showing: Inessa Lurye was
named the
second-place novice speaker, while Emily Tredeau and Lisa Hunter were fifth and
seventh,
respectively.  Additionally, Tredeau and Hunter placed second amongst novice
teams.
Meanwhile, the veteran debaters also did well, as the team of Rob Peterson ’03
and Mark
Janoff ’04 made it to the semifinals with Janoff collecting ninth-place speaker
honors along
the way.

*****

* President Bush spoke out on Monday night in defense of the US government’s
position on
Iraq. In a televised speech broadcast from Cincinnati, Bush stated that “the
time for
denying, deceiving and denying has come to an end”, but offered no new evidence
against
Saddam Hussein’s regime. The speech comes at a crucial point in the American
political
season, with Congress debating the issue this week and voters heading to the
polls in a
month.

* The DC-area sniper struck again Monday according to police, who linked the
shooting of a
13-year-old student to the weapon used in seven other attacks this past week. 
The boy was
shot in the chest while going to his Bowie, MD school Monday morning, and was
subsequently
rushed to the hospital, where he was in critical condition last night after
emerging from
surgery.  Lacking any substantial leads, area investigators are calling for more
federal
assistance from such agencies as the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and
Firearms.

* Following the collapse of ceasefire talks, violence has once again erupted in
the Ivory
Coast, with government troops entering the rebel city of Bouake on Monday.
France has
supported the government regime against the rebels, sending 1,000 troops to
provide
logistical support and urging the president to sign a peace treaty with the
rebels. The
ethnic and religious conflict had been simmering for years, but many fear it
will now erupt
into a full-blown civil war.

* The New York Times reported on Monday that the village of Scarsdale, NY has
been forced to
re-evaluate its policy regarding alchol and school-sponsored events. The
re-evaluation came
in the wake of last month’s homecoming dance, where binge-drinking incidents
left several
students with severe cases of alcohol poisoning. The event has made headlines
because of
Scarsdale’s well-to-do population and reputation as an excellent town to raise
children.

*****

Observatory Open House
Sproul 300, 7:00 p.m.

Lecture: “Gaining Admission to Competitive Graduate/Professional Schools”
by Don Asher, “Author of “Graduate Admissions Essays: What Works, What Doesn’t
and Why”
Kirby Lecture Hall – Martin, 7:00 p.m.

Film: “Estilo Hip-Hop”
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 8:00 p.m.

Observatory Planetarium Program
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.

Animal Rights Coalition Meeting
Hicks 211, 9:15 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Men’s soccer hosts Lancaster Bible, 4:00 p.m.

Tomrrow:
Women’s soccer hosts Ursinus, 4:30 p.m.
Volleyball hosts Franklin & Marshall, 7:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its
tail, it
knocks over a chair.”
–Arnold Toynbee

*****
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