Peace camp no longer welcome

They're still there in Dunn Meadow. The tents are still up, the pamphlets about women in Afghanistan and radioactive weapons are still on a table held down by rocks, the sleeping bags and camping chairs can still be seen inside the tents along with the campers who call those tents home, for now. The Dunn Meadow peace campers are similar to ghosts haunting a house; it seems as if they're just not going to leave. But how long will they actually stay out there?\nThey are protesting the U.S. military action and the bombings in Afghanistan that occurred in retaliation to Sept. 11. In late September and early November, the peace campers handed out peace ribbons and passed out pamphlets about demonstrations being held with speeches speaking out against the U.S. decision to bomb certain areas of Afghanistan. But now, in early February, it seems as though they may have worn out their welcome.\nThey have a right to be there, to protest there, to do what they want (within reason) to make whatever point they want to make. But as of now, all they are doing is taking up space. The peace campers' display of a peace sign is the only thing that portrays some idea of why they are camped out in Dunn Meadow, in case anyone on campus still doesn't know. The peace campers have been camped out for nearly five months, embarrassing some students and faculty with their scruffy appearances and scattered belongings. Haven't they made their point? I know that their point of camping out in Dunn Meadow is to stay there until the violence against Afghanistan has stopped, but for the most part, it has. Do these peace campers still need to protest?\nBecause I walk by Dunn Meadow every Friday, I've often glanced inside some of the many tents which litter the area. There are camping stoves, several sleeping bags, camping chairs, and a bookshelf. A bookshelf. Because it is essential to protest bombings in Afghanistan with an actual bookshelf stacked with books like "The People's History of the U.S." and "Impact of Mass Media." That has to make people think; if someone brings a bookshelf, completely stacked with thick books, along for a camping trip to Dunn Meadow, they obviously intend to stay a while.\nI also have to wonder what the peace campers were thinking when they set up camp in Dunn Meadow. Did they really think that something would result from their action? I can't help but think that, unless IU is in charge of military activities in Afghanistan aimed at getting bin Laden, who's opinion are these peace campers trying to change? They really should be occupying some field in Washington, D.C., where the people who have more control of the issue reside, not here at IU. Showing students and faculty their displays of pleas for peace between the U.S. and the Taliban will not do much for the actual "war on terrorism." In fact, it probably won't do anything at all. \nSo did they accomplish what they intended to? They handed out peace ribbons, pamphlets and kept up their displays of peace. They got their message across. With very few bombings now, there isn't much else the peace campers can do in Dunn Meadow except hang out, enjoy the weather and finish all their books.