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Index 17Thursday, March 6, 2003

Local Signers as of March 3

Mark AppoldSteve R. Baldwin

Martha BartterBecky BeckerPaul CrabbAdam Davis

Andrea DavisElizabeth Delmonico

Tracy FullerJanice Grow

James HarmonC. A. Hilgartner

Wolfgang HoescheleLawrence IlesJohn IshiyamaSeth JarmanJames Jereb

Matthew KillmeierGloria Kwok

Sylvia MacauleyCarol MarshallRobert MartinElaine McDuff

Betty McLane-IIesRobert MielkeChad MohlerSarah MohlerKim Moody

Lee OrchardPeggy Orchard

Alanna PreussnerArnold Preussner

Thomas ReedDavid RobinsonWilliam RubleLinda Seidel

Adnan SelimovicSusan Shoaff-Ballanger

Gregg SiewertDana Smith

Chuck UpdykeNarissa Webber

Let it not be said that people in the United States didnothing when their government declared a war without limitand instituted stark new measures of repression.

The signers of this statement call on the people of the U.S. to resist thepolicies and overall political direction that have emerged since Sept. 11, 2001,and which pose grave dangers to the people of the world.

We believe that peoples and nations have the right to determine theirown destiny, free from military coercion by great powers. We believe that allpersons detained or prosecuted by the United States government should havethe same rights of due process. We believe that questioning, criticism, and dis-sent must be valued and protected. We understand that such rights and valuesare always contested and must be fought for.

We believe that people of conscience must take responsibility for whattheir own governments do -- we must first of all oppose the injustice that isdone in our own name. Thus we call on all Americans to RESIST the war andrepression that has been loosed on the world by the Bush administration. It isunjust, immoral and illegitimate. We choose to make common cause with thepeople of the world.

We too watched with shock the horrific events of September 11, 2001.We too mourned the thousands of innocent dead and shook our heads at the ter-rible scenes of carnage -- even as we recalled similar scenes in Baghdad,Panama City, and, a generation ago, Vietnam. We too joined the anguishedquestioning of millions of Americans who asked why such a thing could hap-pen.

But the mourning had barely begun, when the highest leaders of theland unleashed a spirit of revenge. They put out a simplistic script of “good vs.evil” that was taken up by a pliant and intimidated media. They told us thatasking why these terrible events had happened verged on treason. There was tobe no debate. There were, by definition, no valid political or moral questions.The only possible answer was to be war abroad and repression at home.

In our name, the Bush administration, with near unanimity fromCongress, not only attacked Afghanistan but arrogated to itself and its allies theright to rain down military force anywhere and anytime. The brutal repercus-sions have been felt from the Philippines to Palestine, where Israeli tanks andbulldozers have left a terrible trail of death and destruction. The governmentnow openly prepares to wage all-out war on Iraq -- a country which has noconnection to the horror of September 11. What kind of world will this becomeif the U.S. government has a blank check to drop commandos, assassins, andbombs wherever it wants?

In our name, within the U.S. the government has created two classes ofpeople: those to whom the basic rights of the U.S. legal system are at leastpromised, and those who now seem to have no rights at all. The governmentrounded up over 1,000 immigrants and detained them in secret and indefinitely.Hundreds have been deported and hundreds of others still languish today inprison. This smacks of the infamous concentration camps for Japanese-Americans in World War II. For the first time in decades, immigration proce-

dures single out certain nationalities for unequal treatment.In our name, the government has brought down a pall of repression

over society. The President’s spokesperson warns people to “watch what theysay.” Dissident artists, intellectuals, and professors find their views distorted,attacked and suppressed. The so-called Patriot Act -- along with a host of simi-lar measures on the state level -- gives police sweeping new powers of searchand seizure, supervised if at all by secret proceedings before secret courts.

In our name, the executive has steadily usurped the roles and functionsof the other branches of government. Military tribunals with lax rules of evi-dence and no right to appeal to the regular courts are put in place by executiveorder. Groups are declared “terrorist” at the stroke of a presidential pen.

We must take the highest officers of the land seriously when they talkof a war that will last a generation and when they speak of a new domesticorder. We are confronting a new openly imperial policy towards the world anda domestic policy that manufactures and manipulates fear to curtail rights.

There is a deadly trajectory to the events of the past months that mustbe seen for what it is and resisted. Too many times in history people have wait-ed until it was too late to resist.

President Bush has declared: “You’re either with us or against us.”Here is our answer: We refuse to allow you to speak for all the American peo-ple. We will not give up our right to question. We will not hand over our con-sciences in return for a hollow promise of safety. We say NOT IN OURNAME. We refuse to be party to these wars and we repudiate any inferencethat they are being waged in our name or for our welfare. We extend a hand tothose around the world suffering from these policies; we will show our solidar-ity in word and deed.

We who sign this statement call on all Americans to join together torise to this challenge. We applaud and support the questioning and protest nowgoing on, even as we recognize the need for much, much more to actually stopthis juggernaut. We draw inspiration from the Israeli reservists who, at greatpersonal risk, declare “there IS a limit” and refuse to serve in the occupation ofthe West Bank and Gaza.

We also draw on the many examples of resistance and conscience fromthe past of the United States: from those who fought slavery with rebellionsand the underground railroad, to those who defied the Vietnam War by refusingorders, resisting the draft and standing in solidarity with resisters.

Let us not allow the watching world today to despair of our silence andour failure to act. Instead, let the world hear our pledge: We will resist themachinery of war and repression and rally others to do everything possible tostop it.

A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE

Not In Our NameNot In Our Name

For more information, visit:http://www.nion.us

MMeenn’’ss rruuggbbyy ssttoommppss KKaannssaass iinn hhoommee ooppeenneerrAndy Meyer

Staff Reporter

A solid 57-0 home-field victoryover the University of Kansas(Lawrence) cemented a spot in nextmonth’s regional tournament for theBulls Rugby Club.

The players did not let a muddyfield and cloudy skies stop themfrom playing hard.

“It was the perfect temperaturefor rugby, but the field was a littlesloppy,” head coach Bill Sextonsaid. “The conditions could havebeen better, but we’ll take it.”

Sexton said the team played wellbut is still shaking off the rust.

“We made too many penalties,but at least they were aggressiveones,” Sexton said. “We’ve got toclean up those areas a little, butwe’re excited about the way we’recoming around.”

The Bulls spread the ball aroundagainst Kansas as eight squad mem-bers combined for nine tries. SeniorKevin Hunn led the Bulls with twotries, and the team completed six ofits nine conversion attempts.

Sophomore flyhalf Sean Foley,who scored a try and completed twoof his four conversions, said theBulls controlled the game from the

opening minutes.“Playing as a unit contributed a

lot to our success,” Foley said. “Weweren’t selfish at all.”

The blowout victory over theJayhawks showed just how muchimprovement the Bulls have madesince the fall season. In October2002, the Bulls pulled out a 19-15win in Lawrence after facing a 12-0halftime deficit.

Senior center Luke Walczewski,who put in a try and four of his fiveconversion attempts, said every-thing is starting to click this semes-ter.

“The progress we’ve made is ona whole new level,” Walczewskisaid. “Our defense has always beenstrong, but our real strides havebeen in making better decisions andbeing in the right place at the righttime.”

Player development also hasplayed a role in the team’s success.The Bulls have six seniors on theroster, and only two of them will notreturn to the team next year.

Sexton said he has been putting alot of emphasis into recruiting andretaining younger players.

“We’ve got a remarkable core offreshmen and sophomores who areperforming at a very high level, in

part because of our upperclassmanleadership,” Sexton said. “It’s agreat opportunity to work with sucha youthful team.”

The team may be short on upper-classmen, but Foley said the oldermembers have provided a goodbase.

“Learning from the seniors is theonly way the club is going to buildon itself,” Foley said. “They’vebeen there before, and they’re help-ing us get prepared for the rest ofour season.”

During the next four weeks, theBulls will play a hodgepodge ofclub and collegiate teams in prepa-ration for the Western RugbyFootball Union CollegiateChampionships on April 5 and 6 inPlano, Texas.

Sexton said the team first mustget past the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the first round. If theBulls advance to the second round,they will play the winner of the U.S.Air Force Academy (ColoradoSprings, Colo.) and the Universityof New Mexico (Albuquerque).Sexton said that although he doesn’tlike looking too far ahead, the AirForce will be a formidable oppo-nent.

“They’re very good, very strong

Lack of outdoor practice does not prevent a Bullets winAndy Meyer

Staff Reporter

Strong performances on bothsides of the ball propelled theBullets Rugby Club to a 22-5 winover the University of Kansas(Lawrence) on Saturday.

Junior hooker/head coach CarissGreife said she was pleased with theplayers’ performance against theJayhawks, especially because theyhad been outside only twice beforethe match.

“Our forwards made a lot ofimprovements on the defensive sideof the ball,” Greife said. “We stillneed to work on cleaning up ourgame and playing smarter, but I’mreally proud of them.”

Freshman wing Krista Kastlerscored two tries for the squad, andGreife and senior scrum-half Jenn

Altis added one try apiece. Juniorflyhalf Emily Sanger put in theteam’s only conversion.

Sophomore scrum-half JenniferReesor, who took over as backscoach this semester, said she washappy with the win but thinks theteam can do even better.

“Right now, our biggest weak-ness is tackling because we haven’tbeen able to get outside very much,”Reesor said. “But our biggeststrength is probably passing. Ourwhole team is really good at han-dling the ball, and that’s not how itused to be.”

As the weather continues toimprove, the team gradually willbegin moving its practices outdoors.Greife said the women playedamazingly, considering how littletime they had spent outside.

“There are so many things we

can’t work on when we’re inside,”Greife said. “But we did everythingcorrectly. We did well in manyaspects that we normally spendweeks on.”

Reesor said the team also willwork on developing its kickinggame once it gets outside.

“When we get outdoors, we’llget to focus a lot on kicking andpracticing our aim,” Reesor said.“That will push our game up toanother level and give us a distinctadvantage.”

Reesor said the first-year playersperformed very well.

“I was really impressed with ouryounger girls,” Reesor said. “Theyhave been really strong for us, andwe’re hoping they can continue toplay well.”

While depth is an essential ele-ment of the team, sophomore wingMichelle Hagen said the veteran

team members have been workingwell with the newer members.

“They all encourage us to askquestions, and they’re all nicegirls,” Hagen said. “All the drills werun are really effective, and prac-tices are very informative.”

The Bullets have a three-weekbreak before resuming the seasonagainst a team composed of playersfrom Kansas State University(Manhattan) and the Kansas CityIrish, a club team.

Next the club will journey toChicago, Ill., to participate in theBlack and Blue Tournament.

Reesor said this year’s team isfollowing a path similar to last yearwhen it started slow but finished ona solid note.

“We finished last season reallystrong, and it looks like that willhappen again this year,” Ressorsaid.

and very athletic,” Sexton said.“The biggest mistake they mightmake is taking us for granted. We’lllet them think that, but we’ll defi-

nitely be the underdog.”While the Western tournament is

still a month away, Sexton said theteam will be using its remaining

matches to perfect its style by thefirst week of April.

“It’s about having fun, gettingbetter and learning,” Sexton said.

Maureen Ferry/IndexJunior Cariss Greife braces herself for the fall during the team’s 22-55victory over the University of Kansas on Saturday.

Maureen Ferry/IndexSenior Kevin Hunn drops his head and powers through the defense during the team’s 57-00 victory over theUniversity of Kansas. The team is playing for the Football Union Collegiate Championships on April 5 and 6.