To the Editor:

As a key organizer of the major anti-war rally that took place last Thursday, I took particular exception to two aspects of The Hustler’s coverage of the event. First of all, the rally was not nearly as partisan as you portrayed it through the headline: “College Democrats, Republicans hold rallies.” This was not left versus right or Democrat versus Republican. This rally wasn’t even organized primarily by Vanderbilt College Democrats, although they certainly played a role. I am not a Democrat and neither are many of the people who helped me. By using such rhetoric, The Hustler is only reinforcing the polarization that has limited modern politics. It seems as if you can’t have a political opinion anymore without being labeled by the media, who prefer easy slogans to intelligent analysis.

This protest was largely a protest against the war organized by a range of politically diverse students. I would concede that Thursday’s protesters could be characterized as more liberally inclined; however, remember that 66 percent of this nation is against the war in Iraq. As I tried to stress repeatedly in my speech (to no avail it seems), this is a unifying issue. The majority of this nation does not support this war. There may be differences in opinion as to how we should get out of the country, but it is clear that the people want Congress to do something about Iraq.

Also, I understand that as journalists, objectivity is a primary goal, and this means representing both sides of the argument. However, by giving the impromptu pro-war rally (if you can call it that) equal coverage to the anti-war protest, The Hustler has misrepresented reality. There were maybe seven pro-war supporters who stood outside the chapel only to be drowned out by upwards of 50 anti-war activists, marching in solidarity chanting: “No more war!” and “Support our troops, bring them home!” Just because there is another side to the argument doesn’t mean you need to give it equal representation if it is undeserved. The Hustler was not writing an editorial, it was reporting, and thus it should have stayed objective in regards to what happened on Thursday.

Last week Vanderbilt students made a loud statement. They called into question what Evan Schlank thinks is a “majority” of students who support the war. This is a myth. Vanderbilt is no longer largely conservative as it was 10 years ago. We are a much more diverse community, and we should be proud of this fact. When I walked through Rand and urged students to clap their hands in protest, the ovation I received was overwhelmingly positive. If we continue to build on the rally we had last Thursday maybe Schlank and the rest of the pro-war activists will realize they are outnumbered. Hopefully The Hustler will improve their coverage too, so that Vanderbilt students reading the paper will realize this fact too.

Thank you for at least showing up.

Elias Feghali
Founder, Vanderbilt Students for Nonviolence