Exactly five months since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, public opinion is largely supportive of President Bush's war on terrorism. However, sentiments on the UW-Madison campus remain divided.
Shortly after the bombing campaign in Afghanistan began, there were rallies on campus both supporting the war and protesting it. So far this semester, these demonstrations have been far less frequent.
Today, students on both sides of the spectrum will travel to Milwaukee where Bush will be speaking at a fund-raiser at the Pfister Hotel benefiting Gov. Scott McCallum's bid for re-election.
Ben Collins, a member of the Madison Area Peace Coalition and a UW-Madison senior, will be protesting at today's event. He said he hopes to make the president aware that opposing viewpoints do exist on the Bush administration's approach to the threat of terrorism.
UW-Madison junior and Students for McCallum Chair Tony Blodgett said he disagreed with such a viewpoint.
\I think [the protesters] are in a very small minority,"" he said.
Another student questioned the manner in which the current administration is conducting the war. UW-Madison senior Sarah Kaiksow, who is also a member of MAPC, said she agreed terrorism needs to be stopped.
""I'm opposed to an indefinite war on terrorism,"" she said.
Kaiksow said it was important to note that war has not actually been declared by Congress and that the United States is not following the traditional rules of war.
""This is a war being conducted without sufficient attention to international rules on war which the U.S. has largely written,"" she said.
Chairperson for the College Republicans and UW-Madison senior Susan Strzelec said she believed this war addresses new issues and the rules of traditional war are not necessarily applicable.
""We have declared our war on terrorism,"" she said. ""This is very new; it's something that's never been done before.""
Republican students who work at Gov. McCallum's campaign will be at today's event in support of their candidate. Strzelec said many Republicans on campus fully support Bush's approach in Afghanistan.
""He's got the good of America in mind,"" she said. ""Anybody who goes to protest the war on terrorism is protesting America.""
UW-Madison graduate student and MAPC member Shireen Ally expressed a differing opinion.
""I don't believe that violence should be used to end violence,"" she said. ""The terrorist attacks are not caused by evil people who have evil intentions, but rather by people with a strong set of political motivations. The solution needs to be political such as in U.S. foreign policy.\
