By Carter Pan-Jacobs
This past Wednesday, the 26th, the SGA Legislature heard a
controversial resolution in which Montclair State's student
government, the representatives of the students' interests, speak out
against the war in Afghanistan, which "celebrates" its eleventh
anniversary on October 5. The resolution was met with strong
resistance by the Student Veteran Association, who read it as
anti-military. The resolution's author, Mark Ludas, defended his
positions, noting that he employed the input of a veteran, Chief
Justice Gil Balanzat, in writing the resolution in order to maintain
neutrality towards the armed forces while directing the disapproval
squarely at the endless war itself.
In a tense back-and-forth, Ludas admitted the validity of the
Veterans' desire to be involved in the writing of such a bill. Rather
than force the issue and see it fail among an increasingly negative
narrative, the resolution was tabled pending collaborative revision
between Ludas and the Student Veterans. "I feel more came out of it
this way than if we'd just pushed through a resolution that left some
people feeling hurt or ignored," Ludas said. "The new resolution will
have even more legitimacy."
No comments:
Post a Comment