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District high school students' opinions differ widely as teachers open classes to debate

Friday, March 21, 2003

By Eleanor Chute and Carmen J. Lee, Post-Gazette Education Writers

When the last war with Iraq took place, most of them were learning to print the alphabet. Some were still being potty trained.

Yesterday, they were high school students, with their own fears, speculations and evolving opinions.

At Schenley High School in Oakland, senior Rachel Steinsberger was already worrying about what would happen after the initial fighting. "I don't know how it's going to change things. I just know it will," Steinsberger said at a senior seminar on global issues.

Despite her concerns, she supported the invasion, saying it was necessary in order to prevent greater problems in the future. The United States waited too long to get into World War II, she felt, so "I think it's best not to make the same mistake again."

But fellow senior Lynnette Evans said she thinks the coalition attack is an unjust war and that the United States is acting like a bully. Why is the United States trying to eliminate one potential threat to world peace, she asked, but not another, like North Korea?

The same difference in views could be seen throughout the region's schools, as teachers allowed their students to debate the war in their classrooms, and taught them something about the First Amendment in the process.

Even in the Junior Reserve Officer Training Program at Oliver High School, there wasn't universal support for the Bush administration's decision.

During an already scheduled visit by Coast Guard members to explain their branch of the service, sophomore Jessica Gurley asked if they agreed with Bush going to war without United Nations support.

"He's our commander in chief, and we support him 100 percent," answered Yeoman First Class Kim Marcin.

"That doesn't answer my question. I got the same answer from the people from the Navy," Gurley grumbled. "Well, I don't think [Bush] should have."

"And you're free to feel that way," added Greg Brown, a Coast Guard aviation survival technician second class.

"Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, support our troops," Marcin added.

For some students yesterday, the war still had an air of unreality.

Schenley senior Brittany Wright said she was shocked when she was watching TV and writing a college scholarship essay and heard that the war on Iraq was for real.

"Just to see it actually happening, it startled me," she said.

But the issues raised by the war weren't as much of a surprise as they might have been, said Schenley teacher Randy Smookler, because the senior seminar already had covered such topics as international terrorism and the Middle East.

Like Steinsberger, others in the class were concerned about the long-term effects of the invasion.

Senior Sherri Zwolinski sees much work ahead to help Iraq after the war. "We have to put a new leader in there, rebuild the economy, educate the children." Added senior Brandon Brown: "Our relationships with other countries won't be nearly as strong after the war."

In the Oliver Junior ROTC program, where the students are exploring a military career but are not obligated to pursue one, the debate about the invasion continued in and out of class.

Senior Latasha Taylor said she believed American officials should have tried negotiations longer, and senior Ronee Tart said he thought money was the motivation behind the conflict.

But sophomore David Franklin believed going to war "is the right thing to do" because "we've given Saddam Hussein enough chances to get rid of missiles."

Despite their different views, those ROTC students said the reality of war and the likelihood of suffering and death had not lessened their interest in ROTC or eventually going into the military.

"There are going to be casualties in war. That's the price you pay for freedom," Franklin said.

State Education Secretary Vicki Phillips said yesterday in Harrisburg that it is important for teachers of all children in Pennsylvania to talk about the war with their students.

After Sept. 11, Phillips said, teachers in the district she was serving at the time "felt it was much better to initiate a conversation" than try to shield students. "Students need an opportunity to discuss this. They're hearing it from adults, they're hearing it on TV. They need to understand what's going on and to verbalize that."

Both the Oliver and Schenley teachers subscribed to that approach and said the most important thing for them was that the students gain a better understanding of the conflict so they could reach their own conclusions.

Retired Lt. Col. Michael Cassetori, senior Army instructor for the ROTC class, said he wasn't surprised by his students' varied views because despite some misconceptions, ROTC doesn't try to indoctrinate students into a certain way of thinking.

"We do not promote an agenda," he said. "We just want them to make decisions based on facts."

Added Schenley's Smooker as her students' discussion wrapped up: "Now they realize just how complex it is. I don't want them to be afraid. I want them to be aware."

Eleanor Chute can be reached at echute@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1955; Carmen Lee can be reached at clee@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1884.