Flags in the Quad. A fake burial of an Iraq soldier. A memento of an injured soldier on a wall in the BCC.
These are things you may be seeing on campus during the next two weeks as part of a collaborative effort from Fairfield for Peace NOW to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq. Volunteer students and faculty in Fairfield for Peace NOW are planning events on campus to get students involved.
Jocelyn Boryczka, director of peace and justice studies, spearheaded the planning effort as the leader of Fairfield for Peace NOW and has put emphasis on bringing activism for peace to campus after the success of the Fairfield peace rally last October.
The series of events kicked off on Monday with The Wall, a large display on the second floor of the BCC, which invites anyone who passes by to put up mementos of friends and family who have served or are currently serving the military effort in Iraq.
“The Wall is one way of jump starting that process by getting us to talk about the War and what it means to us as a community,” said Boryczka.
By having Iraq War awareness events on campus, Boryczka said she hopes to inspire Fairfield students.
“The Iraq War will shape the future of today’s young generation,” she said. “It is a story that must be told.”
Casey Donahue ’10, who has been working on The Wall as part of a service-learning class assignment, created one side of The Wall that indicates how much money has been spent on the war.
“We’re comparing the cost spent on the war to things students might understand,” said Donahue, “such as Fairfield tuition and health insurance.”
Fairfield for Peace NOW’s hope is that people take away from The Wall an understanding of the facts and figures of the Iraq war.
“While it might not get everyone at Fairfield to go out and start protesting immediately, at least they might start paying more attention to what’s going on,” said Donahue.
Jennifer Amdur ’09, a member of Fairfield for Peace NOW, said the Wall is an effective way for people to bring their own ideas on the War to the public sphere.
“I would like to see the Wall act as a space where people can reflect on the daily experience of our troops and the war in general, and also a place to honor their friends and family right here at their own university,” she said.
Fairfield for Peace NOW is planning to create a Hope Trail on April 6, which will consist of different colored flags to represent the American casualties, the Iraqi casualties and the refugees resulting from the Iraq War.
They are also planning a mock burial of an Iraqi soldier, which will be led by Theatre Fairfield. This will include a procession through the Hope Trail that will be open to all members of the community.
Fairfield for Peace NOW has been able to create this campus-wide effort with the help of the peace and justice studies program, the center for Catholic studies, Students for Social Justice, Theatre Fairfield, the office of student affairs, Ignatian Residential College, Students for Life, Pax Christi and any interested faculty and students.
Students working on the project said they have high hopes for conveying to students the importance of recognizing the Iraq War, which may sometimes seem like a remote issue.
“This is an important thing to have at Fairfield because many students here are apathetic about many things, including the war in Iraq, and maybe if they understood how many people have died and how many mistakes have been made … they might actually start caring about it,” said Donahue.
Amdur agreed: “Oftentimes the war is forgotten about in our daily lives, and, by honoring the men and women who are fighting for our country, it helps to close that gap.”
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