Rally Spreads Anti-War Message

The sleeping giant of student activism has finally awoken on the College of Charleston campus. It seems that 4,000 flag-draped caskets and the spilt blood of over 29,000 injured Americans in Iraq finally justifies rising up against the war. Thursday the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), an unofficial group on campus, organized an Anti-War Walk Out to Marion Square. With close to 200 students, staff, and community members in attendance, the mood was focused but friendly. Several guitars were present with a few drums, and the air was filled with speeches and songs, mostly anti-war and anti-Bush ballads that vented the grief that participants felt towardsthis generation's Vietnam. The participants ranged from tie-dye wearing students adorning hemp jewelry, military veterans standing tall, curious community members and professors with small but proud smiles on their faces. There was even a bandana clad anarchic-communist waving a red and black flag and occasionally calling for revolution.

Among the speakers was Jared Esselman, a junior Political Science student as well as an Iraq veteran who served in the Air Force. His passionate speech brought up the importance of such protests to prevent the illegal invasions of other countries deemed members of Bush's "Axis of Evil," namely Iran. The words of an Iraq veteran add a special potency to the conversation; this was not an average student speaking it was a man who tasted the dirt of the desert and watched his friends lay down their lives for a country they love and a war they don't believe in. In addition, he not only spoke for himself but also spoke for the voiceless men and women half a world away. These service members are facing the brutality of an enraged community protecting their own nation, as well as the betrayal of an authoritarian president who answers to none.

With students now taking to the streets in an organized fashion, which is surprising for a campus as apathetic as C of C, thoughts toward past activist movements drift into the minds of anyone who experienced the 60s first hand. The modern day SDS is actually a reformation of the largest radical student organization in the history of the United States. During the Vietnam war, SDS was a representation of the New Left who started with protest but at the tail end of the 60s moved on to more active resistance. With sit-ins, marches, and participation in a wide variety of social issues, the SDS focused against student grievances that ranged from ineffective student governments, the draft, bad food, Vietnam and anything else that could be used to motivate change.

The modern SDS does not carry the same socialist slant as its former self and appears to be focusing on only Iraq, but with the never-ending nature of the "Global War on Terrorism," the movement has time to grow toward greater social change. These social activists do need to keep two key issues in mind. First, the protests must continue to be nonviolent. The bombing of recruiting offices and other such stains on the student protests of the past must be avoided. Whenever participatory politics turns violent, the activists become the enemies. With the Bill of Rights suspended until further notice, the government does not need much of an excuse to round up dissidents and ship them to Guantanamo. The second issue is to remember that the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who are bravely protecting our country are not the enemy. Iraq war veterans should not face the same social shunning that Vietnam soldiers received. Today's military personnel are the victims of a colonial foreign policy and in many senses they are the most violated victims of all.

Change appears to be in the air but only if the students across the country continue to stand for peace and remain non-violent. These movements helped end one war and they can certainly help end another.