SURVEY MEASURES STUDENT ATTITUDE TOWARD U.S. WAR IN IRAQ
Close to 75% of Haverford College’s
students are strongly or partially opposed to a U.S. invasion
of Iraq and an equal percentage of them report a willingness
to participate in anti-war activities, according to a recent
survey conducted by their peers.
The student poll was carried out in late January by a student
organization calling itself, “Haverfordians Advocating
Peace in Iraq” or HAPI. Numbering about 50 students,
HAPI wanted to determine how the majority of Haverford College
students felt about a U.S. war in Iraq, if they felt well
informed, if there had been sufficient on-campus debate and
discussion about the issue, and whether they would be willing
to participate in anti-war events at the College. They also
asked students to rate the quality of information they were
receiving from the media.
HAPI members canvassed all of the students’ residences
and administered the survey in person. Eventually, they conducted
interviews with 591 students out of a total student body of
1,105. Of those students who participated in the survey, 46.9%
expressed strong feelings against a war with Iraq; 27.9% described
themselves as “partially against” the war; 13.9%
were undecided; 7.4% were partially supportive and 3.9% strongly
supported a U.S. invasion of Iraq. Over 73% of the students
indicated that they were either considering or definitely
committed to getting involved in anti-war activities.
When asked how informed they felt
about the issues, 40.5% of the students said they felt informed
or “well informed;” 48.6% felt “partially
informed;” while 10.8% felt uninformed. Over l/2 of
the respondents indicated that they did not believe there
had been enough discussion, debate and education on campus
about U.S. policy toward Iraq,
Students were almost evenly divided
in their opinions about the quality of information from media,
which ranged from very poor and poor to adequate, good and
very good.
Campus activists Sarah Morris and Megan Brooker were among
the students who helped carry out the survey. While confirming
their commitment to continue resistance to a war in Iraq,
they said they believed any such effort should be based in
education. “We’ve organized ourselves into committees
to brainstorm about various actions we might take in opposition
to the war, and we’re networking with other college
students in the Philadelphia area,” says Brooker, who
compiled the survey results.
“We think the survey has shown that more education about
the issues involved is HAPI’s biggest priority,”
she says,” and that we need to get as much information
as possible out to the rest of the student body.” To
this end, Morris and Brooker report that the group already
is distributing informational packets on the issue throughout
the campus, and a large contingent of their members are planning
on attending a rally in Philadelphia on February 15. Other
plans include letter-writing and phone campaigns to the White
House and the creation of various artistic projects similar
to the anti-war slogans that have been displayed at various
locations around campus.
In addition to HAPI’s
efforts, other students have arranged for a formal debate
between those who support a war in Iraq and those who are
opposed to a U.S. invasion. Moderated by Haverford president
Thomas Tritton, the debate will take place in the College’s
Whitehead Campus Center on Monday, February 17 beginning at
8 p.m.
