Crimson Poll: Majority Against Military Action

In sharp contrast to the wider American public, a majority of students at Harvard College oppose the current U.S. military action against Iraq.

According to a Crimson survey of 400 undergraduates conducted yesterday, nearly 56 percent of students are equally divided between “strong” and “somewhat” strong stances of opposition to the war.

And of the 34 percent who endorse military action, most only “somewhat” support the attacks.

These results reflect a student body whose views on the war stand far removed from current national sentiment.

Three-quarters of all Americans approve of the decision to go to war, according to a Gallup poll conducted last night.

Most Harvard students also take a critical position on the leadership of President George W. Bush.

According to The Crimson’s survey, more students disapprove of the Bush administration’s handling of the military action against Iraq than oppose the actual war.

“I strongly oppose the war,” said Eudokia Spanos ’06. “I think it’s a bad idea to go in without U.N. support, and I think it’s an indication of perhaps having other motives.”

Roughly three-fifths of students disagree—most of them “strongly”—with the Bush administration’s handling of military action against Iraq.

“I think it’s amazing how quickly we have squandered our sympathy,” said Lisa P. Carlivati ’03. “I think it’s regrettable the way the world sees us now, and I think that has largely to do with Bush rather than Saddam Hussein.”

Students like Rashmi Singh ’05 were able to identify one particular aspect of Bush’s handling of the war that undermined any mandate the venture might have had.

“I don’t support it because it’s not U.N.-backed,” Singh said. “Had there been multilateral support, I might have reconsidered my position.”

Of the undergraduates who said they did not support or were undecided about the war, slightly more than half said they would have changed their position if the U.N. had been behind the U.S. effort.

But some see little point in protesting an ongoing war.

Carlivati said she moderately supports the war because she believes there’s nothing left to do—Bush has “painted [Americans] into a corner,” she says.

But Dominic A. Hood ’05, who backs the war, argues that the United States had to take action.

“I think we are in a precarious situation in the world right now and after Sept. 11,” Hood said. “The lesson that we learned is that we can’t simply wait around to be attacked first, and in this case, the Iraqi government is an obvious threat to our national security. I think it is in our national interest to take preemptive action.”

Students in support of the war also said they are wary of Saddam.

“I also think Saddam is a threat to his own people and we know about the crimes he has committed against his people for years and I think it’s important to stop him,” said Elizabeth K. Mahoney ’05.

Not all students could define their position on the war.

Almost 10 percent of undergraduates said they were “undecided” about their support for the military action against Iraq.

Adam S. Levine ’05 said he “somewhat supports” the war in Iraq—though he has extremely mixed feelings.

“I was very on the fence between ‘somewhat support’ and ‘undecided,’” he said. “Overall, I’m very cautiously in favor of it. I think Saddam is a danger to us and to something near and dear to my heart, Israel.”

Hitting Close to Home

Thirty-seven percent of Harvard students said that they had a close friend or relative in the armed services who could be involved in the war.

Mahoney said both her brother and sister are in the armed forces. Her sister is a senior at the United States Military Academy at West Point, while her brother has been on standby in the States for the past few weeks. She also has a cousin who has already been deployed.

Mahoney said that her relatives’ involvement in the war doesn’t affect her opinion about whether the U.S. should take military action against Iraq, but it does influence how she feels about the war.

“It’s a tough time, it’s very sobering in a way, and it contributes to making sure that we have good reasons that we go to war,” she said. “Knowing my brother could go there is obviously something I take very seriously.”

Levine, too, said he was concerned about the welfare of his distant cousins in Israel as well as Israel as a whole because of the possibility of Iraqi retaliation.

“I remember hearing from them their accounts of what it was like during the first Gulf War and how the Iraqi missiles were landing in Tel Aviv,” said Levine.

The War at Harvard

Though yesterday marked just the first full day of conflict, the shadow of war has already begun to creep over Harvard.

Yesterday’s walk-out and protest drew the second-largest crowd in Harvard history (please see story, page 1).

Jessica M. Marglin ’06, who marched with the students yesterday afternoon, later attended a multi-faith meeting in Adams House dining hall.

That event, unlike the earlier protest, was designed to ease a strain on a community divided by politics.

Some fifty students joined together in prayer at the observance, sponsored by The United Ministry at Harvard and led by students. The Kuumba Singers opened and closed the service.

“Coming here is much more about connecting with other people and realizing even though there is all this turmoil there is this higher power,” Marglin said.

Though the event encouraged students of all political views to attend, Marglin said she did relate the readings to her own personal desire to resolve the war as quickly as possible.

Earlier this week, students convened in common rooms across the campus and at the Institute of Politics (IOP) to watch the Iraqi conflict unfold. Some students then stayed to discuss Bush’s ultimatum and the consequences of war on Iraq.

Aside from these organized meetings, students have been talking informally with each other about the war in Iraq over meals and in dorm rooms.

But with midterms, papers and the approach of spring break, this has been a difficult week for Harvard students to fully grasp the consequences of war.

“Chances are that it’s not going to affect my life all that much,” said Levine. “There is no draft, which is a good thing. However, I do expect to spend a fair amount of time talking about it, reading about it and watching it on TV—and in that sense, it will have a considerable effect on my life.”

Singh said that Harvard students are unsure what their role in the war is or should be.

“Should we just continue with our lives when there are so many at risk of losing their lives?” she asked.

Carlivati said that Harvard insulates its students.

“There’s so much going on,” she said. “I think it’s going to hit everyone a lot more when they are home with friends and family.”

—Staff writer Nalina Sombuntham can be reached at sombunth@fas.harvard.edu.