More than 350 Brandeis students and faculty have signed a petition indicating that they will "walk out of classes in protest on the day of classes immediately following a U.S. attack on Iraq." Provisions have been made to walk out on Jan. 29 if the war begins during finals or winter break. While the spirit of peaceful protest exhibited by these students is positive, this resolution is both premature and ineffective.Historically, walkouts have been successful in effecting social change as part of larger campaigns. The situation in Iraq, however, is different from Vietnam and other famously protested conflicts in several important ways. The most important may be that, while airstrikes are escalating, a full-scale war has not yet commenced. The United States has pledged not to go to war unless Hussein's government fails to comply with U.N. weapons inspectors, who are currently searching Iraqi compounds in a process which may take months.

Rather than adopting a fatalistic attitude -- the mere existence of the petition implies war is imminent -- students should take a more proactive approach. Instead of protesting the war after the fact, students should organize for the walkout to occur before the United States actually goes to war -- preventative measures for a "preventative" war. A campus-wide drive to petition government officials, for example, might be far more effective than threatening to skip classes.

In the original resolution calling for the strike, Matthew Andrews '03 writes that students oppose war in Iraq on the grounds that it will cause the "suffering of innocent Iraqis." But, skipping class for a day will not improve the living conditions of these civilians. And, how does depriving ourselves of our education make us better informed, more effective activists? To accomplish more, students should organize a group that would send aid -- food, water and medicine -- to the Iraqi people.

The most effective protests of years past have been widespread and held for extended periods of time. A one-day walkout by a small percentage of the Brandeis population will accomplish little, except to give students the feeling that they have somehow "helped."

A long-term, organized walkout of a significant scale may be headline-grabbing. It may encourage students at other universities to do the same. It may, if it progresses to that point, even have the ability to shape governmental policy. But, unless a significant portion of the Brandeis community is truly willing to sustain such a walkout for an extended period of time, nothing real will be accomplished.