The UC Berkeley campus community today joined the public debate on the Syrian crisis when student groups from both sides of the argument over U.S. military intervention took to Sproul Plaza to demonstrate.
Members of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality organized a protest against possible U.S. military intervention in the Syrian civil war. A small counterdemonstration, consisting of at least two students and two alumni shared an opposing perspective with passers-by.
The anti-intervention protest featured two speakers, and about 20 students held signs advocating against U.S. involvement. Five police officers were spread out around Sproul to ensure that the demonstrations did not escalate.
David Brown, a UC Berkeley alumnus who spoke first at the protest, said that there is “so much misinformation” coming out of Syria. His claim that the “American people do not support this war” has generally been supported by the polls, such as a CNN poll released Sept. 9, which showed 55 percent of Americans opposing U.S. air strikes against military targets in Syria, even if Congress voted in favor of such strikes.
“Next month, children will turn 12 who have never known peace,” Brown said.
Joseph Scalice, a current doctoral student at UC Berkeley, also spoke at the protest. He said that he doesn’t have faith in either the Democrats or the Republicans and that President Obama is pushing for war just like former president George W. Bush did.
“The only way to fight against this is to overthrow the entire system,” Scalice said. “We’re calling for a socialist revolution.”
According to its official website, IYSSE is “an organization dedicated to mobilizing young people in a fight against the capitalist system and for the socialist transformation of Society.”
Scalice said that he doesn’t believe the U.S. government’s evidence implicating Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the use of chemical weapons against civilians. And, Scalice said, if there is no proof, there is no reason for the U.S. to get involved.
Noma Kahf, a UC Berkeley junior and one of the counterprotesters at the demonstration, said that she was originally against U.S. intervention but has since changed her mind. As someone with two Syrian parents, Kahf said she has carefully weighed both sides of the issue.
“It’s about which risks are greater,” she said. “Both (options) have a lot of risk … It’s sad to think of human lives in ‘let’s kill less than would be killed otherwise,’ but it’s better than not doing anything about it.”
Two students who approached the group of counterprotesters told them that they were an “embarrassment to the entire Muslim population.” They said that it should be up to Muslims to decide what’s best for the country.
Shannon Carroll covers academics and administration. Contact her at [email protected].