Students Boycott Final, Form Iraq Action Group

This past semester, during the intense week of finals, one class chose to boycott their final; they succeeded and all passed.

Over the past several weeks a group of students on campus has decided to move beyond their traditional classroom education and work towards change in an area that often neglects hands-on experience, the Social Sciences.

RAIN, Raising Awareness on Iraq Now, is a student movement devoted to exposing the local community, in hopes of impacting greater communities, to the horrific realities of the war in Iraq through personal testimony, telling images, and physical memorials. Believing that the Iraq war is immoral, unethical, and contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, RAIN is attempting to raise the community's conscience to the war.

This new movement stems from Professor Dan Wessner's first semester Comparative Government Class. The class, which focused on differing political ideologies and social movements, decided to boycott the class's final exam in attempt to more effectively practice what it had learned throughout the course. Being small in number and placing a strong emphasis on dialogue, the group quickly grew close-knit, meeting at 8:00 AM every Tuesday and Thursday morning for discussion. The course covered nonviolent movements that worked toward positive change in society, such as the Indian movement led by Mahatma Gandhi, the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka, and even the United States' own Civil Rights movement.

Professor Wessner strongly challenged the class to push the concepts of these movements into application for our current context and in agreement, the class responded to this challenge with the commencement of RAIN. The class frequently compared today's lack of action to the protests that occurred during the Vietnam War era, such as at Kent State. Dr. Wessner was pleased with the class's initiative and innovation, "Having a class put into practice their collective learning is something that a teacher cannot force or coerce but given the times in which we live and the important subject matter that we are working with it, is not surprising that bright and engaging students would apply it. So while I didn't anticipate it, I wasn't surprised."

RAIN is in the process of planning several events for the spring semester including a physical memorial here on campus for those who have died in Iraq. RAIN is currently collecting 600 pairs of shoes to help personify the estimated 600,000 people who have died as a result of the war; one pair represents 1,000 people. They already have over 100 pairs of shoes for the project. Other plans include a forum featuring individuals who have direct experience with the war, and the posting of graphic images from the war around campus.

The group is also realizing the amount of work that is involved in jump starting a movement. RAIN member Liza Heavener explains this responsibility: "So far it has been an invaluable experience; learning to organize and mobilize a movement. We have a long way to go, but after years of studying history I am finally beginning to understand exactly what civil rights movements took to be successful." Professor Wessner sums up the group well: "My objective as a professor is to minimize students' expectations that they will learn things in class and increase their expectation and confidence of what they can learn outside of class." RAIN creates this opportunity for experiential learning.