On October 18th, there were two events at The College of New Jersey dealing with the war in Iraq.
The evening event consisted of two talks, one by a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and the other by Anthony Arnove, author of Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal. These were followed by a showing of the film “Iraq for Sale.” The event was very successful, judging by the spirited discussion among some 60 participants and a raft of follow up compliments. The educational value is reflected in this comment in a student response paper: “The idea that the war in Iraq is actually denying democracy to the Iraqi people rather than allowing it was a very fascinating concept to me that, before this presentation, I had not considered.”
In the afternoon students organized a Speak Out with music, poetry, short quotes and brief talks from faculty. Although well organized, attendance was low (30 at most), perhaps because the organizer of the event, the Progressive Student Alliance, did not want to give a platform to supporters of Democratic or Republican candidates.
Alan Dawley, adawley@tcnj.edu
History Department