Staff Editorial
The Greyhound (Loyola College-Maryland)
(U-WIRE) BALTIMORE - As expected, the United States has opened what government officials say is the next phase in the war on terrorism, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Friday's so-called "shock and awe" campaign has most conspicuously reminded us of what war really means. But in the past week we have wondered if the average student fully grasps this.
Over the course of the past week, over 1,000 students logged on to Blackboard to participate in The Greyhound's poll on war with Iraq.
Among the more interesting findings was that a slight majority of students do not feel fully informed about the issues at stake in the Middle East. What most surprised us, however, was the number of students who criticized the wording of various questions, accusing us of composing them in such a way to influence students to respond a certain way. Several critics seem to think our questions were "biased," "subversive," "misleading" or "idiotically construed."
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First, it should be noted that of 12 questions asked in the poll, only three were composed by The Greyhound. The questions that seemed most slanted in the eyes of students were actually composed by two of the nation's leading polling organizations, namely Gallup and Zogby International. We intentionally used these organization's questions word for word so that we could (a) follow the lead of organizations who have significantly more experience in composing polls and (b) make an accurate comparison of campus sentiment to the nationwide data collected by these organizations.
But whether or not these questions were our own is not the issue. It seems to us that the reaction of some students to these questions reflects to a certain extent the idealized view of war that sometimes creeps into our heads.
One student said it is unfair to ask if one would support war if it resulted in a certain number of allied or civilian casualties. But is that not precisely what happens in war? Any war, no matter how well-executed, will result in some loss of life. Hearing news of the deaths of dozens of American and British soldiers not engaged in conflict is a testament to that.
Certainly, the world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power and if a swift war can bring about a liberated Iraqi people, we will have much to celebrate when our soldiers return. But whether you are against this war or especially if you support it, do not ignore the human cost of a free Iraq.
