February 24, 2003

UCSC faculty vote to oppose war in Iraq

By Jim Burns

UCSC's Academic Senate, holding its winter-quarter meeting today (Wednesday, February 19), voted overwhelmingly for a resolution opposing "unilateral U.S. military intervention in Iraq."

The vote was 58-0 with two members of the senate abstaining.

Brought to the floor by Assistant Professor Paul Ortiz of UCSC's Community Studies Department and amended by faculty members, the resolution opposed U.S. action against Iraq on numerous grounds, including the belief that:

• No link has been made between the September 11 terrorist attacks and the government of Iraq.

• A war with Iraq would "aggravate tensions" in the Middle East.

• Diplomatic efforts and weapons inspections in Iraq should continue.

• A war with Iraq would result in the death of numerous U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

• A war would divert money from education to warfare and interfere with the university's international initiatives and programs.

The resolution urged the U.S. government to "work with the United Nations to obtain compliance by Iraq with United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning disarmament by Iraq of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and to fully support the work of the international weapons inspectors in Iraq."

In all, the senate is comprised of 637 members. Ortiz said that he had obtained written support for his draft resolution from 112 members in advance of the meeting.

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