Student Group Addresses Crisis in Persian Gulf

Hoping to inject student voices into the Gulf Crisis debate, students gathered last night in the Lamont Forum Room to brainstorm ideas for campus activism.

"Our purpose isn't to place blame, but to find a solution to what's happening," said Darcy E. Gibbons '93, co-founder of Students for a Peaceful Resolution to the Gulf Crisis, the organization that called the meeting.

Of the 25-odd students who attended the meeting, most said they are opposed to U.S. intervention in the Middle East. However, the discussion ended without settling on what, if any, specific U.S. actions the group should advocate.

Two of the most outspoken individuals at the session were not undergraduates, but local members of the Spartacus Youth League. They called the U.S. military presence in the Middle East a "naked oil grab" organized by "sell-out bureaucrats."

But despite some contention about the nature of the Middle East conflict, most participants agreed that increased understanding of the situation will lead to better decisions.

It is easy for Americans to misunderstand a "very foreign culture," said co-founder Jeremy A. Kahn '91, referring to Iraq. "I'm very reluctant for us to freeze on a particular position."

The meeting's organizers said they believe that without action by concerned citizens, the situation will worsen.

"If we don't look for an equitable solution, there will be a war shortly," Gibbons said.

The group, which has scheduled another event Monday, is considering publishing a weekly newsletter and organizing a "teach-in" later next month.