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| Draft looms in minds
of Appalachian students |
Jusitn Boulmay
Multicultural Beat
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The subject
never seems to come up during the news, but ever since President
George W. Bush began announcing his intentions to disarm Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein with or without the backing of a United Nations (U.N.)
resolution, the prospect of a new war raised a decades-old question
among students.
Will there be another draft?
The last time the military draft was instituted by Congress was
during the Vietnam War. In 1973, President Richard Nixon abolished
it.
Thirty years later, opinion over a war is again sharply divided
among Americans, but while that is comparable to the nation’s
attitude during Vietnam, do not count on seeing non-military American
students being shipped to Kuwait during this conflict, according
to USA Today and CNN.
“I don’t see the need for a draft,” Secretary of
State Colin Powell told reporters, and said the current men and
women in the military “are the best we’ve ever had.”
Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Criminal
Justice Dr. Dragan Stefanovic concurred with what Powell announced
publicly and said the draft was good for many things, but “for
these circumstances, it isn’t needed.”
President Bush, according to CNN, is against putting the draft back
into effect, as well as the majority of Congress.
There has, however, been more than one congressman who has introduced
legislation to bring it back, and ironically, one of those men,
Representative Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is against going to war with
Iraq.
So why would he support a draft?
According to CNN, Rangel believes Americans are less likely to support
a war if there is a chance they themselves would have to fight in
it.
If the draft were to be reintroduced, would Appalachian students
be willing to fight?
Mark G. Kennedy, a sophomore communications major, said he would,
although he also said his desire was for more diplomacy.
“We could be more patient with them,” he said, referring
to Iraq and the inspections.
Brian F. Hancock, a freshman business major from Boone, said he
would go if the draft were to be put into effect but would prefer
to not have to.
“I’m not passive, but I’m not a fighter,” he
said. “If I have to defend myself, I will.
“If you’re living here and there’s a draft, you have
to go,” Hancock said. “It’s the law. If you don’t
want to do that then you don’t need to live here.”
Joshua X. Bailey, a freshman from Stratford, Va., however, said
he was not sure whether he would go to fight.
“I think it’s a little hypocritical to say, ‘Yeah,
I want all this freedom, but no, I don’t want to fight for
it,’” Katie M. Sayre, a sophomore exercise science major
from Raleigh, said in reference to those who do not want to fight
if drafted.
Should the United States or any country have the power to force
citizens to fight in a war if those citizens do not believe in what
the war is about?
Bailey, along with Robert T. Appenzeller, a sophomore Spanish major,
both said no, the government does not have the right to do such
a thing.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” Hancock replied.
“That’s a hard question.”
“If you don’t agree with the war to the point where you
feel the need to leave the country, I would say, leave the country,
but don’t come back ,” Chris M. Flanigan, a freshmen computer
science major, said.
“If you want to stay and live here, you should abide by the
laws that this country has.” |
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