Port 80

After a nice, relaxing, weekend, I came back to the dorm this evening to find a small slip of paper that had pushed under my door. One quick read later, and my nice relaxing weekend was right out the window. You see, this particular slip of paper was from the UD Center for Social Concern, advertising their latest event: the “Week of Student Action Against the War”. I’ll take a minute to reprint the contents of this pamphlet.

• FAST FOR PEACE: Monday: Sun-up to sun-down fast, with group dinner to follow.
• PRAY FOR PEACE: Tuesday: 24-hour vigil starting at 4:30 p.m. on Humanities Plaza.
• EDUCATE FOR PEACE: Wednesday: PAPA teach-in 11-2 in Torch Lounge by UD profs
• PLAY FOR PEACE: Thursday: Bands “The Melting Room” and “Breakaway” play in the KU Pub 8-12:30; donations to Voices in the Wilderness, to bring aid to Iraqis effected [sic] by sanctions
• RALLY FOR PEACE: Friday: Rally and discussion on Founders Field 2-4 p.m.; Small group discussions open to students of all political opinions to talk about current issues.

Questions? Center for Social Concern x9-2524

Do you notice anything about all of the above events? It seems to me that there is one common connection - with the exception of the “Prayer for Peace” and the “Rally for Peace”, none of them have anything to do with actuall y ending the war. This is my largest problem with the CSC - their activities tend to include a lot more “social concern” than they do “social action.” Consider the Week In Solidarity with the Homeless, which included a whole lot of sympathy with the homeless and no action to solve the problem. That’s right, none. No soup kitchen visits, no donation drives, no work at Habitat for Humanity, nothing. I am certain that the homeless are deeply touched that a bunch of college students have taken time out of their lives to do nothing for them.

Aside from containing little action, there is another problem with the Week of Student “Action” Against The War. Namely, this week assumes that all students on campus are against the war. This appears to be something of a pattern for anti-war protesters at the UD, despite anecdotal
and statistical evidence that this is most likely not the case. Allow me to be perfectly clear about one thing: The Center for Social Concern is not a private organization on this campus. The Center fo r Social Concern is a subsidiary of UD Campus Ministry, which is a full-fledged part of the the UD administration. My tuition is helping to pay for this week of protest.

Incidentally, this protest is not just about peaceful rallies. A brief glance at the CSC calendar reveals something not mentioned by the slip pushed under my door. Prior to the “Rally for Peac e” on Friday, the CSC has a student walk-out scheduled at 12:15 - right in the middle of normal 12:00 classes. Think this over for a second. The CSC - a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Dayton - is encouraging students to walk out of classes at the University of Dayton. My tuition dollars are being used to attack the process of education that my tuition dollars are paying for.

I am going to make a proposal to all interested students on campus. I am not going to take the extreme approach to these protests, because while I do not agree with the CSC’s views, I am not about to spit on them. However, I think it is high time that those of on campus who disagree with the CSC held our own week: A Week of Student Support for the War in Iraq. Those of us supporting the war do not like violence, but we like the war more than the alternative, which is an Iraqi regime led by Saddam Hussein and armed with WMDs. Here’s a rough and tentative schedule:

• WRITE FOR WAR: Monday: Write letters to the UD administration and the CSC asking an explanation for why student tuition is being used to encourage a student walk-out.
• PRAY FOR WAR: Tuesday: Pray for the safety of our troops, for Iraqi civilians, and for Iraqi conscripts. Actually, this will be going on all week.
• EDUCATE FOR WAR: Wednesday: Examine the causes of the war in Iraq, such as Saddam’s unspeakably brutal treatment of his own people and his blatant disregard for UN resolutions. Visit Ready.gov and prepare for the possibility of terrorist attacks. Review your first aid skills.
• BOYCOTT FOR WAR: Thursday: Resolve never to buy anything from “The Melting Room” or “Breakaway”. In fact, eat anywhere beside the KU dining hall that evening. Let’s make sure that KU is deserted when the “Play for Peace” bands take the state.
• STAY FOR WAR: Friday: Avoid the student rally. Encourage other students to stay in class at 12:15, in recognition of the value of our education. If all else fails, suggest that faculty schedule quizzes at 12:20.

For those of you who are wondering about my earlier criticism of CSC for not taking action in their “Week of Action”, bear something in mind as you read this list. I am not claiming that this week will be about taking action for the war in Iraq - I am intending to support the war in Iraq by saying, “Yes, this war is in my name.” I have no problem with those who oppose the war. I have a problem with those who oppose the war, use their unique position within the administration to elevate their views, make it appear as though the entire campus opposes the war, and do all of the above with my tuition. I will not stand idly by while the CSC does all of the above.

This always applies, but since I have probably just stepped into a large minefield, I should repeat it: The opinions expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone. In no way are these opinions the official stance of the University of Dayton - they simply provide hosting to all students here. If you have an issue with any of the above, don’t contact the webmaster. E-mail me instead. I welcome comments from any viewpoint, but those with particularly atrocious spelling or ad-hominem attacks will be summarily deleted. Just as it is my website, it is my e-mail account.