Anti-War Petition Rejected by SGA

Author: Dan Phillips

The New Left, the College Progressives, Middlebury United for Peace, Environmental Quality and Amnesty International presented an anti-war petition to the Sudent Government Association on March 3 in hopes of gaining the body's approval for a resolution opposing a pre-emptive U.S. military attack on Iraq. The petition was a student-based initiative written and presented by Wellington Lyons '04.5, co-head of The New Left, a political group on campus that supports non-violence and social justice and frequently questions U.S. foreign policy and the actions of multinational corporations. The petition asked the SGA to make a statement on record Middlebury College students are opposed to war on Iraq -- "a war," claimed Lyons, "that the majority of us do not support."
The SGA Senate, however, found it "beyond its purview and detrimental to the student body to establish an official opinion on such unresolved topics of American foreign policy." The SGA felt bound to foster discussion on the matter, but concluded that taking a definite position would effectively end debate of the issue on campus. SGA President Ginny Hunt '03 subsequently wrote a resolution on March 9 to clarify the SGA's decision.
Said Hunt in her resolution, "There are indeed diverse opinions and perspectives in regards to conflict with Iraq, and many students remain undecided on the topic. In this spirit and cognizant of the SGA's influence on campus versus the national realm, we decided to address what is most important to the student body at this time: not what the SGA regards as correct foreign policy, but instead how we can engage in discussion and action here on our campus."
Hunt said she realizes that many students disagree with the SGA stance. In response, however, she added, "Offering one opinion on matters of such complexity belittles and trivializes individual student opinion and the place of respectful debate and disagreement on our campus. We are not of one opinion, nor should we be."
The petition proposed to the SGA Senate was signed by almost 900 students at four tabling sessions, each lasting a few hours during lunch in Proctor, Ross and Freeman dining halls.
The petition states that the U.N. inspection process and U.S. intelligence sources "have not revealed conclusive evidence on Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction" and that a pre-emptive and unilateral U.S. military attack would violate both international law and U.S. commitment to the U.N. Charter, further isolating the nation from the rest of the world. Fahim Ahmed '03, the sponsor of the petition, also pointed out that the resolution "was not brought up to catch the student body off guard, but rather to inform students about the situation until the resolution is adopted."
Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson, who was "not aware that something like this ever came before the SGA," encouraged the SGA Senate to vote as a body.
Hunt asked attendees of last Monday's meeting to think about what supporting the resolution would do for the reputation of the SGA, fearing it might set a precedent and change the role of student government at Middlebury.
Student Co-Chair of the Community Council Ben LaBolt '03 added that the SGA is a deliberative body aimed at improving student life on campus, but war is out of the SGA's scope. "As an institution, we can't represent a particular political viewpoint," he said. "Middlebury has to remain neutral and take into consideration all opinions."
Julia West '06, co-head of the College Progressives, decided to support the petition with the group because there has not been a visible vocal protest on campus. She said that the precedent has already been set for the College to take a political position. "[The SGA's decision] contradicts the peak of excellence of the diverse community Middlebury supports," West continued.
"I think we need to protest this war in any way we can, and our petition is just another way of letting as many people as possible know that there's a growing movement against the war in Iraq. We don't support a president who believes in solving problems through unilateral military conquest," said Ryan Gamble '06, a member of the Progressives.
"The fact that we got almost a thousand signatures makes me feel good about attending Middlebury College."