So a week ago, my friends and I decided we needed to do something about the war and speak up about our anti-war, pro-peace views. We decided to walk out of school today and hold a protest.
It snowballed, and today about 250 or 300 students (from a student body of 110) walked out of first period.
We had lots of signs we had made up. I passed around postcards to our Congressman for people to sign, give back to me, and I’ll mail them.
We walked about four miles around the city, chanting (1-2-3-4 CHS rejects the war! 5-6-7-8 Stop the violence stop the hate! etc) and holding signs. We stopped at certain strategic point for students to speak (which they did, eloquently and enthusiastically) about the war.
We got a lot of honks and cheers, and a few thumbs-down, and ruder gestures. This walkout was the first official activity of CHS’s Students for a Democratic Society.
All in all, it was a huge success. I think we raised a lot of awareness about our anti-war feelings, and showed people that we would not go about business as usual in this time of war.
I think we also prompted our fellow students to think a little more about this war, because they certainly had to wonder why half of the student body was gone for four periods.
So really, I’m very happy with how it all turned out.
I was having anxiety dreams last night about having only like 5 people show up, but I am so proud of how well it turned out…
I’m probably being dense, but how did two to three hundred students emerge from a student body of just over a hundred? Did a neighboring school join in the demostration?
Other than that, good for you. It warms the cockles of my prematurely cynical heart to see people showing enough interest to get involved in politics.
Wait, wouldn’t a pro-democracy student union advocate the liberation of Iraq? I mean, right now it’s totalitarian. Presumably, successful American invasion would garner a result of the nation being a democratic republic.
And is doing something that will have absolutely no effect on the course of anything meaning really worth possibly damaging your academic career? Does your pro-democracy group feel it is more desirable for the people of Iraq to live under a genocidal dictatorship than under a brief American occupation, followed by general freedom?
Why, exactly, does this student group oppose the war so vehemently?
Why did you think protesting during school hours was the right thing to do ? Shouldn’t you be doing personal political statement on your own time, not when you should be learning ?
Moderator’s Notes: Is this thing in MPSIMS? Yup, it sure is. Did I make an announcement about war threads in MPSIMS last week? Yup, sure did. Let’s keep the debate and criticism to a minimum in this forum. Thank you.
Puhlease! Do you honestly believe missing a day of school has any impact whatsoever on her “academic career”? Last time I checked, learning how to participate as a citizen in a free and democratic society was classified as Civics. Writing letters to send to one’s Congressman is both Social Studies and English. And participating in world events in a peaceful protest is a much better way to become “educated” than spending a day in a classroom memorizing answers to a state mandated standardized test.
Regarding the issue of it being during school hours, I believe that we had much more impact on those around by showing that we were willing to sacrifice our routine (in this case, school) to stand up for our beliefs.
We could have had a protest on a weekend. But by walking out of school, we prompted students and citizens to ask themselves, “What is it that drives these students to such extreme action?” I think that by walking out, we ignited discussion and thought which would otherwise not have taken place.
Not to say that an out-of-school protest is useless. I have participated in many of them.
And, I don’t think that a walkout is necessarily the best idea for everyone. But I plan on making up all work I missed, and I feel confident that my personal decision was the right one for me to make.
And in regard to
a) I do not think this has “absolutely no effect.” I have hundred of postcards I am going to send to my Congressman. We raised awareness in our community and school.
b) Yes, it is worth it. I may end up getting a zero on an English test, actually, but to me, it was worth it.
I think it’s absolutely wonderful to see young people taking an interest in what’s going on in the world. Too many of us suffer from political apathy, and ignore what’s going on unless it directly affects us. I think the more young people who understand current issues and are willing to take an informed stand, the better our country will be in the future.
#1. What exactly do you think the US and our allies should have done? What alternatives do you suggest? I am hoping that you won’t say “Give the UN more time” because if the UN cannot disarm Iraq in 10+ years more time isn’t the answer. If you know of a better way to disarm Iraq then please enlighten us.
#2. When, exactly, do you think war is justified? Sadam started this whole thing. At the same time Sadam could have avoided this war if he complied with the UN resolutions.
#3. Why do you think that walking out of school will help your pro-peace cause? I highly doubt that anyone in your school system has any involvement in the planning or execution of the war.
#4.
Have you actually thought about this issue? Feelings are fine, heck I feel that war is a bad thing, but some times the reasons to go to war out weigh our feelings. I don’t want war, no sane person longs for war. But sometimes war is the only option left. (Note, my nephew is over there right now and I am way worried about the boy though he has a non-combat job)
#5. Do you think Sadam is just a nice guy who treats his people well and never did anything to bring on this attack?
I admire that you stood up for your beliefs but I think you need to re-evaluate what you believe.
I will state up front that I am none too keen about this war, and I don’t think very highly of Bush’s rationale for it; however: what, really, is accomplished by staging a walk out? You claim that you “raised a lot of awareness” - of what? Do you think people didn’t realize there was a war on? Or do you simply mean that you showed that there were people who disagreed with it? If the latter, I don’t see how you’ve raised awareness of anything people didn’t already know. Certainly the people who should be taking notice couldn’t care less about your march. As for this:
I think the more likely response is going to be along the lines of what FairyChatMom said. A good number of high school students are always complaining about how much school sucks anyway, so why would anyone think that you’re sacrificing anything by marching around?
I am genuinely curious as to the expected result of this, or any other, “peace march”. Do you just expect Bush to say, “OK, let’s call the whole thing off”? And for him to just up and pull all the troops out by the end of the month or something? Surely you realize that’s not going to happen, no matter how clever the slogan.
There is much grace within you. You have taken an important step in doing something about the things you believe in.
If your English teacher won’t let you make up the test, ask her or him if you might do a paper on Henry David Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience or Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay Self-Reliance for extra credit. Suggest that you might explore your own recent experience in the light of the wisdom of these essays. It won’t hurt to ask.
