By: Aubrea Longacre
This past Thursday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m., a small group of students gathered outside of Schaeffer Auditorium to display their feelings against the United States’ involvement in Syria.
The rally was organized and hosted by Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian group on campus, and “Dude, where’s my change?,” an independent organization known for various activist events.
Speakers included Robert Fallstich and Jim Babb, who claimed that even though the majority of Americans do not support getting involved in a new war, the government is not listening. They also claimed that many soldiers are opposed to the war and that their only reason for killing is fear of being reprimanded by their supervisors.
KU students Devon Knipe and Briana Jamshidi took a personal interest in speaking out against the war. They are part of the National Guard.
“We do not want to be deployed,” they said.
“People don’t care if it doesn’t affect them,” Jamshidi said when asked why she thought the turnout for the rally was not larger.
Christopher Monko, President of Young Americans For Liberty has this to say to students: “Don’t leave it up to political efforts. Don’t just sit behind your computer; come to a rally, talk to other activists. Imagine 1000 people [protesting] at the White House You can make a difference.”
Monko said that even the United Nations claims there is no evidence of Syria using chemical weapons and that innocent people all over the world will get hurt, we as a nation may be becoming the evil we mean to destroy.
Regardless of opinions on Syria, Monko encourages everyone to get informed, get involved and make a difference.
Leave a Reply