Students Protest Potential War in Iraq

On the eve of President Bush’s speech on war in Iraq, students, faculty and local activists rallied at the Science Center yesterday and called the looming conflict an “unjustified” act of aggression.

“For the war to be just, the suffering caused by the war must be less than the suffering that the war prevents,” said Hugh Gusterson, a professor of anthropology at MIT.

The noon-time rally, which was organized by the Harvard Initiative for Peace and Justice (HIPJ), brought about 300 people to hear several Harvard students and faculty members.

HIPJ also set up a faxing station outside and strung cables through first-year dorms so supporters could send petitions to their representatives. But the fax machine operator said many transmissions did not go through because the representatives’ lines were busy.

David G. Mitten, Loeb professor of classical art and archaeology, cancelled the noon meeting of Literature and Arts B-21, “Images of Alexander the Great,” and instructed his students to attend the rally. While most students returned to their dorms, Mitten joined ranks with the protestors.

Timothy P. McCarthy ’93, a History and Literature lecturer known for his outspoken participation in campus activism, delivered a pointed attack on the Bush administration and its policies.

“The U.S. government poses the greatest threat to world peace,” he said.

“I respect our military,” he added. “I respect them so much, I will not send them to their deaths. We can and must exercise our right to freedom of speech and voice our frustrations.”

Zeke W. Reich ’03, a member of the Harvard Folk Song Society, who spoke with an acoustic guitar strapped to his shoulder, warned students that promoting peace would require sustained effort.

“Our foreign policy wants oil before peace,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to be very hard to change, and I’m sure many of you feel that way, too. The enemy of the anti-war movement is not pessimism, it’s complacency.”

Shelby J. Meyerhoff ’03, a member of HIPJ, led the crowd in anti-war chants of “They say war, we say no, endless war has got to go.”

“As organizers we worked on publicity, media, logistics, and other tasks to send a strong and convincing anti-war message, and to reach a large audience,” said Meyerhoff, who spent the day fielding questions from representatives of national and local news media.

Curious students and faculty members stopped by on their way to and from classes to peer at the large circle that had gathered on the lawn in front of the Science Center, where HIPJ had set up tables with anti-war petitions.

The rally also attracted locals, including one gray-haired man who approached the makeshift speaker’s podium in his plaid shirt before the rally and announced his firm opposition to the war.

“I fought in Vietnam,” he said, “and for what?”