Alex Kleiner '04 and Karl Moats '04

The war with Iraq has affected all Americans, and Deerfield students are no exceptions. It's sometimes hard to stay up-to-date with current events while balancing classes, sports, and homework, but during the war, students have been doing their best to stay informed.

More and more students are tuning in to CNN and Fox News than to ESPN and MTV. Students are reading The New York Times instead of People magazine. The mailroom has become a hub of quick news updates in between classes. A newly installed news bulletin board in the Arms Building is covered with articles and pictures from varying sides of the conflict. The "Thought for the Week" has become a fixture on DANET and has offered comfort from the war. In class, many teachers have made room for war discussion in the midst of the normal curriculum. At sit-down tables, the war has become a regular topic of conversation.

On Tuesday, April 8, there was an optional school forum where students and faculty expressed their views on the war. Philosophy teacher Michael O'Donnell said, "I found it very interesting that more kids talked about how the war should be talked about than the war itself." Later that day the faculty gathered to consider various approaches to discussing war issues in class. Mr. O'Donnell, who attended both meetings, said, "I saw students do things I had never seen before, and I saw faculty do things I had never seen before. It was all very positive and encouraging."

On the whole, however, students are discussing the war in more private settings. Students are gathering in small groups in dorm rooms to reflect on the latest developments. In some dormitories, the war has come up in hall-wide discussions.

Even though not everyone has the same opinion, many students believe that the division and debate have been healthy for the community. "I think it's hard for the school because we are not being personally affected," Lindsay Mollineaux '05 said. "At the same time, everybody realizes that we are in this together and so everyone is being civil and open-minded about it."

Many students have been introspective, but others have displayed a more active response in the community. Jenny Douglass '04 has staged a sit-in on the quad to protest the war. Numerous students have shown their support of the troops by wearing yellow ribbon American flag pins during the school day. Mollineaux has also organized a drive for the troops. Students wrote letters and sent candy to troops in the First Marine Expeditionary force.

Dean of Spiritual Life Elizabeth Clement organized "We Still Pause," which allowed students and faculty to meet and discuss the war. "Other schools had prayer services and we didn't have anything like that. So we thought 'We Still Pause' would offer students a chance for exploration, inspiration, and other thoughts about the War," Ms. Clement said.

The war with Iraq has brought current events to the forefront of students' attention. Students are not only learning in the classroom but also about the world outside of Deerfield.