thedrifter
12-01-05, 06:53 AM
Campus Anti-War Network holds counter-recruitment protest
By: Rachel Brown
Graham 204 was packed; only a few seats were left empty. A square shaped banner lined the middle of the chalkboard reading "WAR IS THE ENEMY OF THE POOR".
The room was buzzing with comments and questions as the moderators tried to keep control over the masses.
On Monday November 14 about fifty people attended the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) discussion on counter-recruitment and U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Former Marine Corps Sergeant Chris Dugan opened the meeting with a brief speech of his experience with the military. Dugan, now a counter-recruiter, explained his history as a Marine.
"I used anything I could (when recruiting)," Dugan said. He continued that the Marines "don't care about your future. They don't give a ****."
To become a Sergeant in the Marine Corps, one must receive a certain number of points. Recruitments count towards these points as well as towards a required quota.
"I befriended people, not because I gave a **** about them, but because I wanted to make that quota," Dugan said.
It was then that Dugan explained how he went from Sergeant in the Marines to counter-recruiter.
"Were they teaching me life skills?" asked Dugan. "You don't tell orders, you accept. What kind of lesson is that?"
After completing investigations and outside readings, Dugan came to a conclusion.
"Maybe this is all about lies. Lies affect me, the middle class people."
Because most of the recruitments that Dugan completed were in "impoverished" areas, he noticed that talks of money and a free education were a large incentive to young Americans. But there was a catch.
With four years of "active" and four years of "inactive" work, "You're putting your life on hold for eight years," Dugan said.
At this point Dugan shifted his speech to promoting counter-recruitment action.
"We want to create an environment within this country that creates dissent within the military," he said.
He suggested that protesting recruiters and forming mass protests were two options to make this happen.
The discussion was then opened to the floor for a question and answer section. The topic quickly shifted from counter-recruitment to the situation in Iraq as people began vocalizing their concerns.
Rising senior Jessica Osborn commented that,
"If we start a war we have to finish it."
At this, several hands flew into the air.
"The U.S. said let's leave it up to the U.N., the U.N. said let the U.S. invade Iraq," said freshman Adam Petaccia.
"It's like getting stabbed in the stomach and saying; leave it in, so it won't bleed as much. The correct thing to do is to take them to the hospital. Let the trained professionals take care of it. That's the equivalent of letting the U.S. rebuild Iraq." she continued.
Appalachian State graduate Ben Lassiter added that "the Iraqi's aren't going to want to see blue helmets exchanged for green ones."
"You can't be antiwar and pro-occupation," Brooklyn resident Lydia Pecker said. "A withdrawal would not happen in a day, it would not happen in a week, it would not happen in a month."
In an attempt to shift the focus back to CAN and to counter-recruitment efforts nationwide, senior CAN member Julie Southerland noted that San Francisco had recently passed a law banning military recruiters in public schools.
"They are counter-recruiters in a way," Southerland said.
After much more debate, Dugan ended the night with another speech.
After quoting a poll stating that he majority of the people in the U.S. wanted the troops to be pulled out of Iraq Dugan stated
"If they're (the U.S. government) not working for the majority in this country, they're sure as hell not working for the majority in Iraq."
"I'm always going to be a counter-recruiter. I'm not going to be a recruiter again," Dugan said. "We're the ones who are going to stop this war."
Ellie
By: Rachel Brown
Graham 204 was packed; only a few seats were left empty. A square shaped banner lined the middle of the chalkboard reading "WAR IS THE ENEMY OF THE POOR".
The room was buzzing with comments and questions as the moderators tried to keep control over the masses.
On Monday November 14 about fifty people attended the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN) discussion on counter-recruitment and U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Former Marine Corps Sergeant Chris Dugan opened the meeting with a brief speech of his experience with the military. Dugan, now a counter-recruiter, explained his history as a Marine.
"I used anything I could (when recruiting)," Dugan said. He continued that the Marines "don't care about your future. They don't give a ****."
To become a Sergeant in the Marine Corps, one must receive a certain number of points. Recruitments count towards these points as well as towards a required quota.
"I befriended people, not because I gave a **** about them, but because I wanted to make that quota," Dugan said.
It was then that Dugan explained how he went from Sergeant in the Marines to counter-recruiter.
"Were they teaching me life skills?" asked Dugan. "You don't tell orders, you accept. What kind of lesson is that?"
After completing investigations and outside readings, Dugan came to a conclusion.
"Maybe this is all about lies. Lies affect me, the middle class people."
Because most of the recruitments that Dugan completed were in "impoverished" areas, he noticed that talks of money and a free education were a large incentive to young Americans. But there was a catch.
With four years of "active" and four years of "inactive" work, "You're putting your life on hold for eight years," Dugan said.
At this point Dugan shifted his speech to promoting counter-recruitment action.
"We want to create an environment within this country that creates dissent within the military," he said.
He suggested that protesting recruiters and forming mass protests were two options to make this happen.
The discussion was then opened to the floor for a question and answer section. The topic quickly shifted from counter-recruitment to the situation in Iraq as people began vocalizing their concerns.
Rising senior Jessica Osborn commented that,
"If we start a war we have to finish it."
At this, several hands flew into the air.
"The U.S. said let's leave it up to the U.N., the U.N. said let the U.S. invade Iraq," said freshman Adam Petaccia.
"It's like getting stabbed in the stomach and saying; leave it in, so it won't bleed as much. The correct thing to do is to take them to the hospital. Let the trained professionals take care of it. That's the equivalent of letting the U.S. rebuild Iraq." she continued.
Appalachian State graduate Ben Lassiter added that "the Iraqi's aren't going to want to see blue helmets exchanged for green ones."
"You can't be antiwar and pro-occupation," Brooklyn resident Lydia Pecker said. "A withdrawal would not happen in a day, it would not happen in a week, it would not happen in a month."
In an attempt to shift the focus back to CAN and to counter-recruitment efforts nationwide, senior CAN member Julie Southerland noted that San Francisco had recently passed a law banning military recruiters in public schools.
"They are counter-recruiters in a way," Southerland said.
After much more debate, Dugan ended the night with another speech.
After quoting a poll stating that he majority of the people in the U.S. wanted the troops to be pulled out of Iraq Dugan stated
"If they're (the U.S. government) not working for the majority in this country, they're sure as hell not working for the majority in Iraq."
"I'm always going to be a counter-recruiter. I'm not going to be a recruiter again," Dugan said. "We're the ones who are going to stop this war."
Ellie