This week Pepperdine celebrates peace, hope and justice during a time when there seems to be very little peace, hope and justice in the world.
War with Iraq appears to be inevitable. North Korea’s nuclear arsenal strikes fear into the hearts of everyone – including many who remember the horrors of battle in that country. The war against terrorism continues unabated, with new threats arising such as the poison scare in Britain last week. Suicide bombings and civil unrest continue in the Middle East. The downward spiral of the economy claims new victims each day – attacking big business and the average Joe with an impersonal persistence.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot to celebrate.
And yet …
The point of “Peace, Hope and Justice Week” isn’t to point out where there is peace, hope and justice in the world. It’s to point out where the world falls short and encourage Pepperdine students to do their part — however big or small — to seek peace, hope and justice in this world. It’s to give students the knowledge they need to take an active role in the global community.
The “hope” comes in the fact that some students are answering this call. Each year Pepperdine students join the Peace Corps to bring aid to the impoverished, and more students are enlisting this year. Other students enroll in the Armed Forces or Reserve Officer’s Training Corps to help protect America from terrorism and embark on peace-keeping missions all over the world. An even greater number provide support to family and friends who are serving the United States in military duty, especially now as the Bush administration pushes for war in Iraq. Still other students give up their Spring Break or dedicate years of their lives to serve as missionaries, bringing both aid and the “good news” to individuals all over the world. The idea of service is embedded into the Pepperdine mission.
We could go on and on about the efforts of Pepperdine students to bring peace, hope and justice into this world, and the Graphic staff salutes those who have gone as far as to place their lives on the line to serve our country. But while there are many who have dedicated themselves to a more peaceful and just tomorrow, there are many more who aren’t even sure what’s going on in the world or the difference between Iraq and Iran.
In this week’s “I’ve Got Something To Say,” for instance, several of the students polled said they did not support going to war with Iraq. The reason? “I don’t know enough about it.”
It’s one thing to stand for pacifism, oppose the war because you think it’s more about oil interests than a nuclear threat, or fully support ousting Saddam, but students should at least learn enough to take some kind of stance beyond “I don’t think we should because I don’t know enough about it.”
Recent graduates and even current law student Gerald Boyle are already overseas and poised for possible battle. The least their classmates can do is understand what they’re fighting for.
No matter what you think about the looming war in Iraq, the point is that you should think about it and other world events. It may seem miles away from you and your life, but it does and will impact you.
While Pepperdine has always been known for preparing students for lives of service, the university has not been as successful in preparing them for lives of activism. Instead, most students are apathetic – and promotions like “Peace, Hope and Justice” week have only evolved within the last few years as more students have opted to get involved. A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article even reported that an anti-war petition at Pepperdine garnered only 11 signatures. The Graphic staff ventures that if this is true, the lack of signatures isn’t because most of the student body is pro-war, but because most of the student body is apathetic or doesn’t know enough to take an active role.
So while we have hope in the few active servants on campus, we won’t have justice until the majority at least educates itself to take a stand.
January 23, 2003