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War: What is it good for?

Conscientious Patriots and the Peace March struggle with low student participation

by Katie McMullen

If President Bush gave the order tomorrow, a draft could be fully operational in 75 days.

Aware of the very real possibility of Selective Service in the United States, members of the Grinnell community formed Conscientious Patriots last winter, a group committed to encouraging reflection and dialogue about war and the option of being a conscientious objector (CO).

Conscientious objection is defined as a sincere conviction, motivated by conscience, that forbids someone from taking part in organized killing and legally recognized by the U.S. government.

"We're not saying everybody who runs Selective Service is the enemy or villains or anything," Charles Pope, vicar of St. Paul's Episcopal Church and co-founder of the group, said. "We're just saying that as Americans, there is [a] choice. On the law ? there is the option to object to going to war."

Pope formed the group last winter with several other local ministers. The group holds monthly events about the war in Iraq and possibility of a draft, such as speakers and film screenings, but have considered going to every other month because of low turnout.

"We don't know why students aren't responding like we hoped they would," Pope said. "All we're saying is we want you to think ... about the pros and cons, [and] where you stand with this. If you want to go fight, then choose to do that, but think ahead."

Morgan Wajda-Levie '08, a member of Conscientious Patriots, is a conscientious resistor, meaning he refuses to even register for the draft, and came to Grinnell partly because it promised to pick up the tab for loans the government will not provide to resistors.

"There is a strong sense of patriotism and certainly nationalism [in the U.S.], so [the group is] trying to separate that from militarism and say that there's more to patriotism than war and fighting in war," he said.

Pope said he is motivated by his experience during the Vietnam War.

"We were all terrified ... as high school students," he said. "The closer to graduation we all got, the more terrified we got. We didn't realize there were any options."

Group members are willing to discuss the war and implications of the draft with anyone, regardless of their stance on participation.

Conscientious Patriots also provides individuals with proof of their interest in peace-oriented events and assists students in the creation of a CO file

"If you wind up being a conscientious objector, you're going to have to prove it to a draft board. You're going to have to provide a file that shows longevity," said Pope.

Conscientious Patriots members are not alone in trying to raise awareness of the implications of war. Every Thursday a group of students and staff gather at Herrick Chapel for a Peace March.

"The point is not that we are a small group in Grinnell, Iowa... but that we are one of many groups of hopefully hundreds of thousands across the nation who are ... actively protesting for peace" said Emily Kugisaki '09.

The marches began in the spring of 2005. Faculty members were the driving force in organizing the march.

"A lot of [faculty members], like myself, [are] relics from the 1960s who were somewhat disturbed by the lack of activism among students today in the face of a war that's just as outrageous in many ways as the Vietnam war was," Kent McClelland, Sociology, said.

Despite the direct effect war can have on students, they have had difficulty gaining student participation on campus.

"[Students'] attention needs to be dragged to the fact that this war is dragging on, [that] it was started on false pretenses, [that] it's been a truly disastrous policy for the U.S. and that it affects them and that they should be doing something about it," McClelland said.

Sidebar: Objecting to War

The U.S. military defines conscientious objectors (CO) as service members or draftees who believe they cannot participate in any war because of religious or moral reasons

After a draftee receives notice that they are qualified for military service, they may make a claim for classification CO, but have a limited amount of time--sometimes as little as nine days--to do so

Conscientious objectors are divided into three categories: noncombatant soldiers, absolutists, who refuse to participate in any part of the Selective Service process and alternativists, who accept alternative civilian work

In the past, a draftee had to be a member of a ?pacifist church' to qualify, but in 1970 the Supreme Court ruled that people could qualify as COs for reasons other than religion

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