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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Daily Illini article : "Peace rally urges non-violent reaction" (9.21.2001, p.1) |
Current rating: 0 |
by Sarah Anderson, contributing writer
(No verified email address) |
23 Sep 2001
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Demonstrators on U of I's Main Quad Thursday urged U. S. to use peaceful response to attacks. |
A rally was held on the Quad Thursday night to promote peaceful action by the U.S. government against the recent terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. As students, faculty and community members gathered by the Illini Union to ask for non-violent action, more than 100 other peace rallies were taking place oncampuses across the nation.
Sandeep Ghaey, sophomore in LAS, organized the rally in hopes of spreading the idea of peace and tolerance.
"When many people think of non-violent action, they think it means non-action," Ghaey said. "That's just not true."
Military retaliation is not the appropriate response Ghaey said, arguing that there are many different approaches to dealing with terrorists. He urged the government to use military policing to bring terrorists to international courts.
"There can be no excessive use of violence in search for justice," Ghaey said.
The rally consisted of an open microphone forum and several speakers, including Brooke Anderson, senior in LAS and co-coordinator of Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative.
"Violence cannot be responded to with violence," Anderson said.
She denounced military retaliation, saying it would only accelerate the cycle of violence. Anderson said the group is calling on students to actively speak out against the racist treatment of Muslim, Arab and Arab-American people.
Other students agreed that the attacks should not be met with violence.
"We hope to get more people motivated in the peace cause," said Matt Reichel, junior in LAS and president of the Student Peace Action, a group that formed the day before the Sept. 11 attacks. "We don't need more innocent civilians dead."
Reichel wants the government to spend money on the country's infrastructure, including health care and education, instead of allocating money for military preparations against the Taliban, Afghanistan's ruling government.
"Violence will only lead to more terrorist attacks, and further alienate the U.S. from the
rest of the world," said Vivek Srikrishnan, sophomore in engineering who attended to rally. Bin Laden should be treated as a criminal fugitive, rather than an enemy of war, Srikrishnan said.
Not all agreed with the speakers' peaceful approach.
Brian Byrd, junior in commerce who attended the rally, said he only agreed with a few points made by the speakers. Although scaring the terrorists and their supporters through military action might not be the best action, if nothing is done, the terrorists will attack. "They won't just stop," he said.
Several professors calling themselves Professors for Peace said that future attacks can be prevented without resorting to violence.
"Bombing Afghanistan will not bring back loved ones," said Stephen Hartnett, assistant professor of speech communications. "If you want peace, join us to fight for justice." |
See also:
http://www.dailyillini.com/sep01/sep21/news/stories/news_story01.shtml
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