To the Editors:

We, the undersigned students, faculty and staff of Oberlin College and community members of the city of Oberlin, Ohio have come together to resist the war, repression and injustices that the United States government has consistently endorsed since September 11, 2001. We who sign this statement deplore the rush to military means to address terrorism, abhor the erosion of civil liberties in the United States, and oppose a war on Iraq — a country who has no connection to the tragedies of September 11, 2001. We believe it is our right and our responsibility to stand up to these injustices that are being committed in our name.
Our dedication to justice is rooted in our history. Oberlin College was the first college to admit African-Americans and women, while the town of Oberlin offered refuge to escaped slaves on their way to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad. During the Vietnam War, the Oberlin College community came together to oppose our government’s actions abroad.
Throughout the war, weekly candlelight vigils and organized draft resistance raised awareness and cultivated a sense of urgency to stand together in opposition to the war. Upon receiving news about the Kent State shootings, students and faculty flooded into Finney Chapel, filling it to capacity. That day, grief and anger further fostered action and resistance within the Oberlin community. Today, Oberlin’s commitment to justice requires that we refuse to join the American government and its agenda of repression — both at home and abroad.
We believe the United States government and its political agenda are not representative of what most Americans want and what the world needs. We oppose the secret detention and imprisonment of immigrants. We oppose the racial-profiling and hate crimes committed against Muslims and people from the Middle East and South Asia. We oppose the silencing of those who speak their minds, exercising their right to dissent. And we oppose the unjust and economically motivated war on Iraq.
Americans have been told to “watch what we say” and President Bush has clearly warned, “you’re either with us or against us.” We say no, because it is not us for whom you are speaking. It is not us whom you represent. We are here to make our own statement against violence, against war, and against the suspension of basic freedoms. We are here to make our own statement for peace, for justice, and for the security of all human beings in this world.
On behalf of humanity, we refuse to join the American government in a war against the world. Let it be known that we resist these injustices of war and the erosion of civil liberties for it is our responsibility as people of conscience to question deeply the actions being taken by our government.
We call on each other and those dedicated to justice to resist the war on terrorism, the war on Iraq and the oppression being imposed by our government on its own citizens and on the citizens of other nations. We urge Americans to say, “Not in our name.”
Oberlin has a place in the historical struggle against injustice. Today, we continue to confront oppression and we refuse to let repression be carried on in our name. Let us move forward, for we believe and have always believed that another world is possible. We stand in solidarity with the people of the world, and we are ready to work together for peace, justice and freedom. For we believe it is only a world without war and without injustice that may foster the kind of peace that every human being deserves.

—Becky Bodonyi
College senior