Since the school year began, the talk of this nation has been the inevitable military conflict that is set to take place between the United States and Iraq. The debate over whether this invasion and regime change is a wise decision or not is so heated that even members of the Bush administration are divided as to how to do it. However, despite this active discourse nationwide, there has been little to no public discussion about these events on Adelphi's campus - something that is unacceptable for an institution of higher education.
One month has passed and there have been no lectures, panels or forums addressing an issue that will certainly affect us all: War. Not just "War on Terrorism," not a war in which the President sends a select number of troops to seek and destroy terrorist camps. But a war that is sure to invole a full scale military occupation and regime change of a recognized government.
There is a rumor that a public discussion about this will take place on campus - at the end of November, two months into the semester. Political Science majors claim they were made aware of this buut nothing has been made public knowledge as The Delphian went to press.
Within days of Sept. 11 last year, the University began to sponsor open forums hosted by numerous organizations. The Muslim Students Association had students from a number of ethnic backgrounds talk about their hopes and fears after the terrorist attacks. Provost Marcia Grosse Welsh sponsored a panel of Adelphi's professors who addressed some of the issues we as a campus community need to be aware of. These were excellent ways to get the University community actively engaged in a critical conflict. The topics of discussion may not have been pleasant, but they played an important role in helping us all to understand the "big picture."
How can we consider this a world of academia when we choose to be ignorant about something that has such an impact on our lives. If our country goes to war - which appears to be a certainty based on President Bush's discussions with the UN - we will all have to pay attention to the repercussions. Americans will lose lives, our economy will probably sink deeper into its recession and we will have to be aware of more terrorist attacks. To hide our heads in the sand as we appear to be collectively doing is not the way to handle this. Instead we should become active through debate, discussion and criticism.
Apathy is one thing, but complete lack of acknowledgement is inexcusable. Someone from this University's administration needs to step up now and put something together immediately. If it was possible to organize a year ago on such short notice, there's no reason why it can't be done now. A topic that sparks such debate as this war will surely attract a large number of students and professors.
