With President George W. Bush expected to make a final decision regarding war against Iraq later today, college students around the Commonwealth are taking part in debates, protests and vigils to make their voices heard on the divisive matter.
"It's an old Texas expression, show your cards when you're playing poker," Bush said yesterday in a White House press release, alluding to the need for foreign leaders to declare their support or opposition for United States-led military action in Iraq.
Sixty students at the College of William and Mary showed their cards against the war last week by engaging in an almost two-day-long fast that began at 8 a.m. Thursday and ended at 6 p.m. Friday with a dinner and vigil.
The event was co-sponsored by the William and Mary Community for Peace Action and the Williamsburg Community of Faith for Peace, said Matt Lancaster, one of the project's organizers.
"I was very pleased," Lancaster said. "William and Mary has a tendency to be an apathetic campus, so for 60 people to go without food for two days really says something."
William and Mary English Professor Ann Reed was one of a number of the school's faculty members who participated in the fast.
"I certainly think this war goes over the top in terms of the many rationalizations people have for war," Reed said. "I haven't been politically engaged for a long, long time, but this political situation has called out a lot of people who otherwise would not be engaged."
Other William and Mary students recently have taken a number of avenues to voice their support for the Bush administration and military action against Iraq.
The William and Mary College Republicans are planning to attend a pro-America rally in Richmond, and are wearing stickers and yellow ribbons to support President Bush and the military, said organization chair Suzi Chaplain.
At James Madison University, four seniors have created a school-wide forum for debate of a potential war with Iraq, labeled the "Orange Band Initiative."
"We feel like kids on our campus just hadn't seen this campus engage itself about that many issues," said Kai Degner, a member of the program's steering committee. "We are so far removed from news in general and there is no draft that makes us think about it."
The program's signature component will commence next Monday, consisting of students wearing orange wrist bands for a week, which they will decorate with a symbol that represents their opinion on the issue of war, Kai said.
"The orange bands are an invitation to discuss with someone their symbol," Kai explained. "If I see someone with an orange band, I'm obliged to ask them, 'what do you mean by what's on your arm?'"
The initiative also includes a Web site with an interactive discussion forum for students, faculty and other site visitors to debate war-related issues.
"The goal is not pro-war or anti-war...it's to get a discussion going between people," Kai said.
At Virginia Tech, members of the school's Young Democrats chapter have participated in numerous anti-war rallies in downtown Blacksburg, said Young Democrats President Emily DeBord.
Lancaster said he would like to see students from Virginia's entire collegiate community join together to protest war.
"I would like to help coordinate a Virginia school event with U.Va., Richmond, VCU --- all the different Virginia colleges," he said. "That's probably the next big thing I'll be doing."
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