A group of Evanston Township High School students will host an all-day teach-in today to educate their peers about the war in Iraq and its possible effects.
Youth for Social Action, an ETHS student group, has invited a diverse group of speakers for the teach-in, entitled “War, Occupation, Racism, and Attacks on Civil Liberties.” The speakers include Northwestern political science Prof. Ian Hurd, DePaul University international studies program director Michael McIntyre, an army sergeant, a representative of a group of Vietnam war veterans opposing the war in Iraq and a representative of Voices in the Wildness, a group opposing sanctions against Iraq.
“We’re not trying to push one line as much as we are really trying to educate students about opinions that don’t make it through CNN and FOX,” said Sam Swenson, 17, the Youth for Social Action chairman. “The real point is to get some conversation going that’s not happening in the classrooms or cafeteria.”
The first 20 minutes of each 43-minute class period will be used for the speakers’ presentations, and the rest of the time will be used for group discussion, Swenson said.
Hurd said he plans to talk about the “international context of the diplomacy” for current events in Iraq to help students understand how the international system reached its current condition and what the next actions should entail.
“I’ve done this at other high schools in the past and found the students to be well versed in current affairs,” Hurd said, adding that high school students often are more enthusiastic and less cynical than older students.
“It’s very refreshing to talk to a different type of audience than you normally talk to at a university,” he said.
Many teachers already have signed up to bring their classes to the ETHS commons room for the event, and students who have free periods, such as lunch and study hall, will be able to attend the teach-in on their own.
Youth for Social Action is a student organization aiming to eliminate violence and discrimination in society, according to the group’s Web site, www.social-action.org.
“The point of the group is to really give students a chance to participate in grassroots democratic organizing,” said Swenson, an ETHS senior.
In March, the group helped organize a walk-out of more than 1,000 students to protest the war.
