Oct. 1, 2002 War fever is warm, but not Vietnam hot By David Anderson Staff writer The level of anti-war activism at the university toward possible U.S. action in Iraq is a far cry from what it was at the height of the Vietnam War, when the university community was bitterly divided over the conflict, said university professors who were on the campus at the time. "You often couldn't have class because there were students outside chanting," said Morris Freedman, an English professor emeritus who taught during the Vietnam era. Although many university students have pitted in on one side or the other, a large segment of the student population has remained silent - either for apathy or disengagement. Rohina Phadnis, a freshman individual studies and journalism major and member of the student activist group Peace Forum, said she expressed her opposition to the proposed attack during her American studies class, but that none of her classmates was willing to speak up. "There was a silence in the room, like no one else really wanted to express an opinion," Phadnis said. Because an invasion has not yet begun and the relationship between students and the administration is better now than 30 years ago, the campus has not been the scene of large demonstrations, Freedman said. "The [attack] is still hypothetical," he said. "I'm not sure how seriously anybody is taking this attack on Iraq since the students know there are so many other dictators in the world. There may be some extreme reaction when the thing becomes immediate." The members of Peace Forum said they have been out around the campus talking to students about the possible invasion but have gotten either indifferent or ignorant responses from students. "Nobody really feels like they know enough to form an opinion," said member Daniel Speyer, a sophomore computer science major. Freedman said when the war first began in the early 1960s, the level of student awareness and opposition toward Vietnam was about the same as it is now toward Iraq. As the war in Vietnam intensified through the late '60s and early '70s and more and more university students faced the threat of being drafted, the campus became the scene of numerous rallies, demonstrations and riots. "There was skepticism, then negativism, then resistance," Freedman said. The activity came to a head on May 1, 1970, when students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia ransacked ROTC offices in the Armory and then spilled out onto Route 1 in protest. The next several days brought hundreds of police and National Guardsmen to the campus, brandishing rifles and firing tear gas at unarmed students. Some students responded by pelting the officers with rocks and bottles. "We weren't frightened, it was just strange," said David Lightman, a journalism lecturer who was a journalism student and Diamondback reporter in 1970. "It was like we were living under military occupation. Why in the world was the state mobilizing against students, for crying out loud? We didn't have weapons!" Freedman said the war aroused passion in his students. English students came to him wanting to organize meetings to discuss ways to end the war. "I didn't see the point," Freedman said. "All we could do was talk about it." One contribution Freedman did make was to try and end some of the rioting that occurred in 1970. He was away from the campus when he heard news reports of students setting fires and smashing windows. He called his assistant and instructed him to call the maintenance department and ask workers to turn on the television sets in Taliaferro Hall, where his office was located, and tune them to the NBA championship game being played at the same time. "All over students stopped what they were doing and sat down and watched the basketball game," Freedman said. As a result, Taliaferro Hall suffered no riot damage, unlike many other buildings on the campus. "Students didn't want to destroy or burn," Lightman said. "We wanted to make a statement, we wanted the U.S. out of Vietnam and we were appalled that they sent in military units to calm us down." Compared with his English students of 30 years ago, Freedman said the honors students he currently teaches have had nothing to say about either the ongoing war on terrorism or the proposed attack on Iraq. "There's been no effort to talk about Sept. 11 and Iraq," he said. "I've made an effort but no one has taken me up on anything, and that's all right. They're much more focused on how to handle the course material. I think the faculty ought to be very careful not to impose their opinion on students." Since the Peace Forum's formation in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, its members have been working to educate students on the pertinent issues of the past year, including terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. policy toward Iraq. They have brought guest speakers to the university and held several student forums. "We want to serve as a vehicle for political discussion from all sides, and at the same time, promote awareness of these issues," said member Mark Gubrud, a physics graduate student. "We've created a space where students can get up and speak their minds." Gubrud said attendance at the group's meetings ranges from six people to 150, depending on the issue at hand. The group also has 100 active subscribers to its listserv, and sends out e-mail announcements to 600 others. The group hosted a student forum Thursday to discuss a possible invasion of Iraq and participated in anti-war protests in Washington this weekend. "War [and] violence is now the official policy of the U.S., and that is why I am here, because I am opposed to that," said member Jeremy Sullivan, a graduate student in history. Freedman said he did not anticipate a return to the protests and violence of the Vietnam era if the invasion of Iraq occurs, mainly because the relationship between students and the administration has changed since the 1970s. Thirty years ago, students had a much more adversarial relationship with the faculty and the administration, and the protests came out of a culture of resistance to authority. "There's a much more sensible, tolerant, humane feeling toward students [today]," said Freedman. "When there's a warm feeling toward the faculty, there's less tendency on the students' part to demonstrate against the powers that be."