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St. Cloud State University
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Numbers disappoint
By Cathy Kropp
Published:
Thursday, November 7, 2002
Cathy Kropp -- Staff Column
I have to say that I am disappointed with a good majority of our campus population right now.
This week, the campus organization People Uniting for Peace, along with 17 other student organizations, brought to our campus a variety of speakers and other outlets to discuss the pending war on Iraq. Dubbing it “Peace Week,” the combined groups have scheduled over five different presentations to take place in the first three days alone and have also staffed an informational kiosk and constructed a “wall” in Atwood to help illustrate the present situation in Iraq.
I have attended three of these events so far and have noticed a disturbing lack of attendance in all three cases. At two of the events, I counted a combined 50 people present.
Now, I realize that any number of people gaining awareness and education about this serious issue is a wonderful achievement. Fifty informed people could spread the word to dozens or even hundreds of other people. But 50 attendees from a campus population of over 15,000 is ridiculous and upsetting, to say the least.
The point of college is to expand your knowledge. Whether or not you agree with the issue (or the angle of the issue) being discussed should be irrelevant. There are two sides to every story and ignoring one side is not only close-minded but also detrimental to your credibility as an informed citizen. By this I mean, that if you are ignorant of your opponent’s arguments, how in the world will you be able to refute them when confronted?
Some of us are unsure of how this war will affect us personally. A proposed war in Iraq would place our citizens and our national security at risk. Family and friends of those who are enlisted would have to deal with the fact that many of our soldiers would not make it back. And if they did come home, they may face the risk of future illness and death due to problems they acquired while in service.
Our economy would face collapse in the event of war. Country after country has declared their opposition to our proposed invasion of Iraq. Without their support, we will have to finance this war ourselves. And who will be the ones emptying their wallets? Why, the taxpayers of course.
And from where will these funds be drawn? Poorly regulated areas such as social security and education. So what does that mean to us as students? It means that financial aid will be severely cut if not completely eliminated. If you think times are tough now, you just wait. The number of students who will be able to afford higher education will fall into miniscule digits.
So you see, this proposed war effects us all, whether we want to admit it or not. That is why it is all the more disturbing to me that so few people on our campus seem to care.
