Peaceful Valley College ‘Teach-In’ Explores War

The prospect of a Mideast war has forced Valley College student Rene Collins to consider possibilities that never came up in class.

“I can’t see myself killing somebody,” the 21-year-old broadcasting major said Friday. “If I do, I don’t see how I could live with myself. It’s just not fair. I have so much to live for.”

Collins talked of his dilemma as several hundred fellow students listened to speakers debating the political aspects of a Persian Gulf war during a “teach-in” at Valley College.

Students and faculty sat and listened quietly to faculty members and others speaking against a U.S. war with Iraq. The low-key event was in contrast to the emotional anti-war rally Thursday at Pierce College, which led to a fistfight between protesters and pro-Administration counterdemonstrators.

Valley College student body President Alaine Jelsvick exhorted the crowd in the school’s Monarch Hall not to repeat the violence. “I’d rather have Valley College on the news tonight as a peaceful educational center,” Jelsvick said.

Students said they wanted to learn more about the reasons for a Persian Gulf war, especially if they may end up fighting there.

“I would go if I were drafted,” said Francisco Franco, 20. “But first I’d like to find out as much as possible.”

Roz Brown, president of the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Organization for Women, urged the withdrawal of all troops until the United States secures equal rights for women in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

“Women throughout the Middle East are denied basic human rights,” Brown said.

Valley College political science professor Farrel Broslawsky, who said he is unconvinced by arguments for war, urged students to carry the debate off campus, raising the issue with “your parents, your wives, your lovers.”

“It’s going to be your lives,” Broslawsky said.

Despite the grim talk, student Quinn Messmer, 20, said he remains optimistic that war will be averted. “I believe Saddam will pull back,” he said.