IUSA refuses student coalition's anti-war resolution

The IU Student Association voted Monday night against a resolution asking the student government to oppose a possible war in Iraq. \nMembers of the group Coaltion to Oppose the War Iraq, who presented the bill, said they are outraged and disappointed with the final vote against the student-sponsored resolution to take a stance against the war.\nIUSA Student Body President Bill Gray said there were a number of reasons why the resolution did not pass. \n"While many students aren't in support of the war, on the same hand they aren't opposed to it either," Gray said. "Students are waiting to see what will happen."\nGray said he was concerned about the idea of labeling people as either pro-war or anti-war. Members of COWI presented around 500 signatures from students opposing the war, out of nearly 40,000 students at IU. Gray didn't think that was a significant number.\nWhile Gray admits that some members of Congress were not as sure as others about how their constituents felt, he said the idea to table the bill was immediately dismissed. Members of COWI and others in support of the resolution wanted an immediate decision.\nSophomore Sam Lawrence, an active member of COWI, attended Monday's meeting. He said he was disgusted by the outcome and said he felt IUSA was misrepresenting the student body. Lawrence claims many members of IUSA's Congress didn't know the position of their constituents but still voted against the resolution.\n"You can't vote 'no' if you don't know how students feel," Lawrence said. "How do our representatives not know the feelings of their constituents?"\nLawrence said he felt the members who were unsure of student opinions should have abstained from voting. \n"If they would have voted 'yes,' it still would have upset me," he said.\nSophomore Daniel Mark, the main person behind COWI's resolution, didn't want to speculate on why the resolution didn't pass. He thought it was sad the student interest did not reflect opposition to the war. However, he said he still believes most people at IU are not in favor of it. Mark said the 500 signatures he and fellow members of COWI collected over several days was not indicative of the only people against the war. Mark explained there was a sense of emergency with getting the bill to IUSA before spring break and before the onset of newly-elected officials. Members of COWI said they thought it was most important to pass the resolution before the U.S. decided to wage a war against Iraq.\n"Had there been more time, the majority of students would have supported it," Mark said. "It was a great opportunity to take a stance against the war and they missed it."\nMark said he felt as though several IUSA members felt pressured and attacked by some of the people in attendance at Monday night's meeting. \n"The whole night the discussion was very odd for a number of reasons," Mark said. "I think the audience ended up hurting us more than they helped us."\nMark said a number of people in support of the resolution became upset once some members of Congress admitted they did not know how students felt but still voted no. He couldn't believe everyone in IUSA really voted according to how they felt. To Mark and other COWI members, voting "no" while second-guessing student opinion, didn't make any sense. \nCOWI plans on holding its next meeting the Monday after spring break, when it will discuss future plans of action and the possibility of sending the resolution back through IUSA.