Students can and should be active in U.S. politics

Editor,

I am writing in response to the editorial published in the Daily Lobo on Wednesday regarding GPSA's resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The opinion comes from one of the many apathetic young students of UNM. This student proves to have little knowledge of the historical role of university students throughout the world. Furthermore, the editorial is a piece of popular expression that deserves to be used by social scientists as an example of this nation's political environment and its differences with the rest of

the world.

In conclusion, it verbalizes the political culture of the U.S. and sadly expresses the reason for the lack of student involvement in what should be a priority of every citizen at this point - a firm and committed effort to end the war. Its main mistake is to claim that "student governments have no place in foreign policy."

In other countries, students not only fight for what concerns them, but also support workers' demands, the unemployed, public education, public health and international solidarity. In many nations, they do get involved in foreign policy, such as in Argentina and Uruguay.

However, most nations do not invade others, so we do not see a lot of that around the world. Without going abroad, students opposing the Vietnam War put pressure on the government that was important during that time. These days, however, we have not seen any organized student action. Since the beginning of the war against Afghanistan and now Iraq, students around the world are waiting for the response of the student population in the U.S. While students around the world have protested with marches against the imperialist and criminal wars the U.S. has started, high school and university students in the U.S. have done nearly nothing to match these international

efforts.

Democracy and freedom can only be defended at home, through dialogue and the civic use of dissidence and protest. The freedom we all enjoy exists not thanks to wars against Vietnamese, Koreans or Arabs, but great American leaders who rallied behind the flag of equality for all in this nation.

Be the great leader you ought to be to save this nation's democracy and say no to the war with actions. It is up to us, the students, to decide which U.S. will exist: the democratic one or the invader and imperialist one. The duty of every student is to be the change.

Sebastian Pais

UNM student