A stark and troubling contrast was shown between the passion of UCSB students and the apathy of City College as both schools held protests against the war in Iraq on Feb. 15.

At UCSB, between 700 and 1,000 students, faculty and staff protested with a march to Highway 217 where they blocked traffic. Two activists who crossed police lines were arrested by the CHP, according to the UCSB Daily Nexus.

While UCSB students were willing to sacrifice their freedom to stand for this cause, most of City College was not willing to stop and listen to the opinions of speakers against the war.

As UCSB students were marching through campus, expressing their thoughts and views on the war, a majority of City College students did not care to even open their mouths.

City College professors were asked to hold their classes outside that Thursday, only a few classes showed up.

City College had no sense of community or protest on that day. The student body was not unified under a common cause or protest like UCSB was.

The only thing common between City College students is their overwhelming apathy.

Many students here are against the war, but they have not spoken out. Why?

Our parents before us held massive and legendary protests against the Vietnam war. Perhaps their irrepressible outrage was a mere response to the military draft.

It must and should not take something like a draft to get students to wake up and speak out against the atrocities committed in and out of our country.

Most students don’t recognize that a war is going on and soldiers our age are dying. Maybe if they were threatened with military service, they might be more willing to protest.

A protest must be a event in which everyone participates to collectively and firmly express a strong opinion in order to correct the wrongful situation.

But on that day, hardly any students participated nor did many stop on the way to class to observe the protests. Their indifference was astounding. Are students afraid to voice their opinion? Who are they afraid of? We live in liberal California.

Students are too obsessed with their evening plans to even stop and rally for peace. The excuse that a peace rally will not affect the grand scheme of things is no longer acceptable in this day and age.

Although City College is a s We cannot sit idly and blissfully with such tragedy afoot mall part of the United States, it must be an essential part of the beginning of a revolution to stop the war in Iraq.

Students must be an integral part of that revolution.

If we can show unify to show as much and passion as UCSB, perhaps this current regime will wake up from its dissociated slumber and realize that their constituents demand a change in action. Only then will the youth begin to be recognized for our passion for peace just like our parents.

Our strategy must include more rallies, protests and more participation.

We commend those faculty and students who participated in and organized the ‘Teach for Peace’ event and urge more to follow suit in upcoming events.

We call upon more of the City College community to take part in the protests.

We can no longer sit idly and blissfully with such tragedy afoot. We must take a stand now.