Students host a forum to allow all opinions on the Iraq
War to be voiced
by NATHAN WRIGHT – Staff Writer
Students at Cali Calm/cac Charter School hosted a war forum last
week, asking for opinions from both teachers and students on the
war with Iraq.
Six teachers and six students spoke at the March 19 forum,
representing views both for and against the war. Chris Meza, an
eighth-grade student at Cali Calm/cac, hosted the event and spoke
out against the war.
“I was concerned about what was going on,” said Meza, who
explained why he asked the administration to host such a forum. “I
don’t feel it’s time for war.”
Meza originally was thinking of holding a walk-out style
protest, but after discussing his options with the administration
he decided against it. “We were told we’d get in trouble if we
(left campus).”
The Cali Calm/cac administration, working with its counseling
department, allowed the students to hold the forum to discuss their
feelings.
“We had a number of students who were expressing their desire to
share their opinion and feelings on Iraq,” said Cali Calm/cac Vice
Principal Matt Myres. “We wanted them to do it in a way that could
be supported by the school.”
The event opened with school Principal Ginger Dale welcoming her
students and asking everyone to hear all sides. “We want you to
think about what’s going on,” she said. After the brief welcome,
she handed the event over to Myres, who officiated the remainder of
the forum.
“It’s very important that everyone respects the opinions of all
the teachers and all of the students speaking here today,” he told
the students. “I want to emphasize that we want to be sensitive to
anything in this room who has relatives in and around Iraq in the
United States Armed Forces.”
Meza then took over the floor, leading the six teachers through
a series of questions on their views of Iraq. Questions included:
what is your position on the conflict in Iraq, and what could be
the consequences of invading or diplomacy?
After answering all of Meza’s prepared questions, the teachers
took a few minutes to answer questions from the crowd before
handing the forum to the six students who came to speak in front of
their peers.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” said Meza, who spoke first. “It’s
not about weapons of mass destruction.” Meza went on to explain his
views on the subject, pointing out that North Korea is far more
dangerous than Iraq and how he felt we were beginning a war over
oil.
Laurel Larson, an eighth-grader who supports the opposing view,
spoke out in support of the war. “He’ll destroy his own people,”
she said of Saddam Hussein. “If we don’t do anything, who knows
what will happen to those poor people of Iraq.”
The forum wasn’t Cali Calm/cac’s only activity this week
designed to support its students. Paolo Breschi, a school counselor
and a participant in the forum, says the school has been supporting
the younger students all week. “We asked them to draw or write
about it,” he said. “We try to create a forum to support the
kids.”
