Faculty sign anti-war petition, students more supportive

Though a majority of University students have supported the war in Iraq, some faculty members are vocal opponents of the conflict. The New York Times recently noted a similar liberal faculty response at academic institutions around the nation.

Poll results

A poll conducted by The Daily Princetonian on April 4 — before the fall of Baghdad — found 60 percent of University students supported the war. But on April 9, 45 members of the faculty, organized by Professor Lucia Melgar of the Spanish and Portuguese Department, endorsed a statement in 'The Prince' that denounced the war as illegal and without proper U.N. backing.

Among the professors who signed the statement were Cornel West GS '80, Alexander Nehamas GS '71, Jeremiah Ostriker, Peter Singer and Lee Silver.

Not all the endorsers had seen the advertisement or even knew the exact language of the statement on the petition, but all agreed that the war was being fought illegally under international law, Ostriker said.

Melgar initially sent an email message out to about 100 colleagues on campus and requested that they forward it to others who might be interested.

"Many colleagues had voiced their opposition to the war in different ways, but there was a lack of public expression of this position on campus," Melgar said in an email.

Melgar said she hoped the statement would encourage an "exchange of a diversity of opinions" and allow some students who might not be comfortable expressing their opinions to do so.

Princeton's situation is similar to that of many campuses nationwide, where faculty are often the most politically active opponents of the war, according to the recent Times article.

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The general population of the country, in turn, is more pro-war than Princeton students are, according to Quinnipiac University's most recent poll results. National support for the war was at 76 percent as of yesterday, the poll indicated.

The professors who endorsed the statement said they stood by their viewpoints.

"The fact that Iraq has been defeated does not erase this issue," Melgar said. "It is now an occupied country, and it will be crucial to be aware of the consequences of occupation for both Iraqi and U.S. citizens and for American democracy itself."

Other professors, like Ostriker, also expressed discontent at the manner in which the U.S. legitimized its involvement in the Iraqi war.

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"I would have favored war had it followed a U.N. resolution authorizing it," Ostriker said.

"However, in absence of such resolution, it is in contradiction of the U.N. charter of which we are a signatory."

Though Singer said he was pleased with Saddam's removal from power, he also could not endorse the U.S. government's stated goals for entering the conflict.

'Deeply disturbed'

"I am deeply disturbed by the Machiavellian hypocrisy that led the Bush administration to pursue this war," Singer said in an email.

"They convinced the American people that Saddam had something to do with 9-11, when the Saudi Arabian government has much more blood on it hands through its tacit support of radical Islamic extremism."