Anti-war concerns resurrected
Students Against War say that students shouldn’t have to enlist in the military for free tuition.
Protesters and advocates made a stand at the career fair in the Student Union Building on Feb. 4, in response to the controversial Canadian military booth present.
Members of Students Against War (SAW) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) staked out a spot in front of the Canadian military booth to protest what they saw as the “poverty draft” and cautioned fellow students against considering a military career.
But recruiting staff from the armed forces weren’t worried.
“This is pretty tame,” said Petty Officer First Class Bill Attridge.
Last year, SAW set up a coffin in front of the military booth to block students from getting to it. This followed a failed attempt by the UVic Student Society to ban the military from coming to career fair. The UVSS had passed at a board meeting to keep the military out, but this was over-turned at an Annual General Meeting in a vote of approximately 500 to 25.
This year, red paint covered the hands of protesters holding up a sign which read “Poverty Draft” in duct tape. They handed out leaflets with statistics and information about Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan.
“More and more students are turning to military as a form of economic security inside a recession,” said SAW member Shannon Lucy.
Fellow group member James Glickman also voiced concern for his fellow students.
“We’re here to say that no, it’s not a romantic job,” he said. “You can’t go off and get your college paid for and jump out of airplanes.... You actually go out and you kill people for the Canadian army in order to keep their interests safe. And is their interest necessarily your interest, or is it state and corporate interest?”
The main message of the protesters was that students shouldn’t have to enlist to get free education. The billions of dollars Canada has spent in Afghanistan could be better spent on tuition, they said.
“Why doesn’t the government care about all students, and not just the ones who are willing to go shoot ... people overseas?” asked Lucy.
Protesters were also voicing Afghani objections to NATO’s presence in their territory and the number of civilian deaths, Lucy said.
She specifically mentioned a 2008 statement by the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan (RAWA). The group said U.S. and international forces were the source of numerous unnecessary civilian casualties, saying troops were “bombarding wedding and joy parties and showering bullets on our oppressed people, especially women and children.”
“We’re not providing security for Canada,” Lucy said. “The Canadian Forces website does not even claim that we’re in Afghanistan in defense of Canada; they claim we’re there at the request of a democratically-elected government.”
New SDS member Nathalie Down, a second-year environmental studies and philosophy student, said she was protesting the war in general.
“I’m just against the military in general, and against war, and against killing innocent children and women and civilian casualties. I’m against the profiteering that’s involved with war, I’m against the environmental tolls.”
Attridge said the table had seen around 35 people over the morning, despite protester efforts.
12 Comments
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Sol Kauffman Feb. 12, 2009, 3:43 a.m.
I am not a soldier or at all affiliated with the Canadian Forces, but this picketing of the recruitment booth is frankly disgusting in my opinion. Not only is it highly disrespectful to the soldiers who serve overseas and fight and die for our government and our country and what it stands for, it is the equivalent of attacking a hammer for nailing the wrong board. As a soldier it is your duty to fulfill the commands of your government and your leaders and to do so with honour and courage. Of course I would expect a Canadian soldier not to commit war crimes or hurt the innocent even under orders, but this protest implies that soldiers cannot be trusted to live by a moral code, something that is laughable coming from a bunch of coddled university students safe at home. If you disagree with what our government is doing in Afghanistan then it is your diplomatic right and even duty to vote and write letters to officials and stage protests and all that - but it is unconscionable to disrespect officers of the Canadian Forces in this way. And furthermore if SDS and SAW believe that soldiers and government employees do not deserve free tuition in exchange for doing the work we are not strong enough to do, then perhaps those groups do not deserve to attend government subsidized school at all. I am appalled that the normally quite intelligent student body would choose to oppose the war in this way and ask that they have a little more respect and belief in the Canadian Forces.
Peace Is Our Profession-motto, US Strategic Air CommandSol Kauffman Feb. 12, 2009, 3:43 a.m.
I am not a soldier or at all affiliated with the Canadian Forces, but this picketing of the recruitment booth is frankly disgusting in my opinion. Not only is it highly disrespectful to the soldiers who serve overseas and fight and die for our government and our country and what it stands for, it is the equivalent of attacking a hammer for nailing the wrong board. As a soldier it is your duty to fulfill the commands of your government and your leaders and to do so with honour and courage. Of course I would expect a Canadian soldier not to commit war crimes or hurt the innocent even under orders, but this protest implies that soldiers cannot be trusted to live by a moral code, something that is laughable coming from a bunch of coddled university students safe at home. If you disagree with what our government is doing in Afghanistan then it is your diplomatic right and even duty to vote and write letters to officials and stage protests and all that - but it is unconscionable to disrespect officers of the Canadian Forces in this way. And furthermore if SDS and SAW believe that soldiers and government employees do not deserve free tuition in exchange for doing the work we are not strong enough to do, then perhaps those groups do not deserve to attend government subsidized school at all. I am appalled that the normally quite intelligent student body would choose to oppose the war in this way and ask that they have a little more respect and belief in the Canadian Forces.
Peace Is Our Profession-motto, US Strategic Air CommandSteve Feb. 13, 2009, 9:24 p.m.
If these SAW students want to protest against the war, that's fine,but send them all over to Afghanistan and let them protest in front of the Taliban.I trust that these SAW students will have the guts to go over and tell the Taliban to lay down their arms.These so called protest groups haven't got a clue as to what is going on over there.Our troops are there for all the right reasons, while the Taliban and other insurgence groups are there for all the evil reasons.These protest groups are nothing but a bunch of people who haven't got anything better to do.They protest for for the sake of protesting.If they really want to protest the war, then again I say send them all over to Afghanistan and protest against the Taliban.They might even consider living under the regime of the Taliban, just to see what real oppression is like.Then they can come back, that is if they make it back.......The Vietnam Vets used to say, `If you haven't been there, then shut your mouth.
Steve Feb. 13, 2009, 9:24 p.m.
If these SAW students want to protest against the war, that's fine,but send them all over to Afghanistan and let them protest in front of the Taliban.I trust that these SAW students will have the guts to go over and tell the Taliban to lay down their arms.These so called protest groups haven't got a clue as to what is going on over there.Our troops are there for all the right reasons, while the Taliban and other insurgence groups are there for all the evil reasons.These protest groups are nothing but a bunch of people who haven't got anything better to do.They protest for for the sake of protesting.If they really want to protest the war, then again I say send them all over to Afghanistan and protest against the Taliban.They might even consider living under the regime of the Taliban, just to see what real oppression is like.Then they can come back, that is if they make it back.......The Vietnam Vets used to say, `If you haven't been there, then shut your mouth.
Dutchman Feb. 20, 2009, 8:44 p.m.
Sol, I believe the protest was against the armed forces for attempting to recruit students by dangling the golden carrot of free tuition in front of them not, as you say, a
disrespectfulgesture towards our soldiers. And the question of why the gov't is willing to spend billions of dollars on war instead of substantially less on student tuition is a fine question. And who says they haven't voted for a federal party that is against the war, or wrote letters?Steve, where is your logical thread on sending protestors to Afghanistan to protest in front of the Taliban? The students are protesting our occupation of Afghanistan and our armed forces attempts to recruit students by means of financial promises. And I reckon you haven't been to Afghanistan either.
The Afghanis don't want us there, the lives of women have not improved, opium production is way up and the 'democracy' we are propping up is made up of the same drug lords and war criminals that were responsible for the Taliban's rise to power in the first place.
Is that what Canada stands for?
Dutchman Feb. 20, 2009, 8:44 p.m.
Sol, I believe the protest was against the armed forces for attempting to recruit students by dangling the golden carrot of free tuition in front of them not, as you say, a
disrespectfulgesture towards our soldiers. And the question of why the gov't is willing to spend billions of dollars on war instead of substantially less on student tuition is a fine question. And who says they haven't voted for a federal party that is against the war, or wrote letters?Steve, where is your logical thread on sending protestors to Afghanistan to protest in front of the Taliban? The students are protesting our occupation of Afghanistan and our armed forces attempts to recruit students by means of financial promises. And I reckon you haven't been to Afghanistan either.
The Afghanis don't want us there, the lives of women have not improved, opium production is way up and the 'democracy' we are propping up is made up of the same drug lords and war criminals that were responsible for the Taliban's rise to power in the first place.
Is that what Canada stands for?
Kim Feb. 22, 2009, 11:53 p.m.
Here is my problem, and it is the same one I had last year. The protestors are confusing anti-war and anti-military protests. If they want to protest the war, that is fine, but they need to find a better avenue. But confusing the issues (and they certainly are different) just makes the people protesting look unintelligent, and makes their message confusing. Unfortunately the military is a necessity - we need to have a readily availible group of people who can respond in cases of emergency (who do you think has been helping with the flooding, forest fires, ice storms, and all the other natural disasters we have had over the years in our country?). Not to mention the fact that the guarantee of a job after you get that free education is more than can be said of university education.
Kim Feb. 22, 2009, 11:53 p.m.
Here is my problem, and it is the same one I had last year. The protestors are confusing anti-war and anti-military protests. If they want to protest the war, that is fine, but they need to find a better avenue. But confusing the issues (and they certainly are different) just makes the people protesting look unintelligent, and makes their message confusing. Unfortunately the military is a necessity - we need to have a readily availible group of people who can respond in cases of emergency (who do you think has been helping with the flooding, forest fires, ice storms, and all the other natural disasters we have had over the years in our country?). Not to mention the fact that the guarantee of a job after you get that free education is more than can be said of university education.
mike March 16, 2010, 6:04 p.m.
These tree huggers are a waste of space. The Canadian Forces are trained to fight and defend but also they have search and rescue techs who help people. They also have firefighters that help people.They also have the Disaster Assistance Resonse Team that help people. Remember when B.C was burning.Thousands of soldiers came out to help.These
studentsshould put down the pot and do some research before they start shouting off their mouths. Just my two cents.mike March 16, 2010, 6:04 p.m.
These tree huggers are a waste of space. The Canadian Forces are trained to fight and defend but also they have search and rescue techs who help people. They also have firefighters that help people.They also have the Disaster Assistance Resonse Team that help people. Remember when B.C was burning.Thousands of soldiers came out to help.These
studentsshould put down the pot and do some research before they start shouting off their mouths. Just my two cents.Mike Hansen July 4, 2010, 2:25 p.m.
Who will protect Canadians from
gang insurgents that smuggle weapons of mass destruction, guns and drugs from The Worlds largest gun and drug infested shit hole America into Canada, day and nightWho recruited the psychopathic murderer colonel Russel Williams? Who recruited the treacherous military intelligence that over looked this psychopathic murderer Russel Williams? Who will protect Canada and Canadians? Not the treacherous military! Mike HansenMike Hansen July 4, 2010, 2:25 p.m.
Who will protect Canadians from
gang insurgents that smuggle weapons of mass destruction, guns and drugs from The Worlds largest gun and drug infested shit hole America into Canada, day and nightWho recruited the psychopathic murderer colonel Russel Williams? Who recruited the treacherous military intelligence that over looked this psychopathic murderer Russel Williams? Who will protect Canada and Canadians? Not the treacherous military! Mike Hansen