Display sparks controversy
Emotions have run high since volunteers first laid a blanket of red and white flags representing American and Iraqi deaths in the Iraq War across the Southern Oregon University campus on Saturday.
The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, said Students for Truth Director Danny Moffat, who worked with Peace House and the South Mountain Friends Meeting to bring the Iraq Body Count Exhibit to Ashland.
But the flags stretched across the lawn scream 'blame' to some, including recent veterans who served in Iraq.
Video, Orville Hector; Editing, Mike Green & Orville Hector
Reporter: Julie French | Ashland Daily Tidings (7 mins)
"It's more or less a slap in the face to everyone who's given their lives in the war," said Blane Newfield, a 25-year-old SOU sophomore and Iraq veteran. "It's very vague, and in my opinion it's leading to imply that all these deaths are the fault of the U.S. military."
Although the Iraq Body Count Exhibit says the purpose is not to make a political statement, students like Newfield interpret the display as such, seemingly promoted by the university because it spans the campus. They dispute the figure of 655,000 Iraqi deaths cited by the exhibit and say the overwhelming number of white flags representing Iraqi soldiers and civilians minimizes the significance of the red flags, which stand for the 4,050 American soldiers lost.
SOU's flag exhibit overwhelms Ashland |
"It's basically making them look like they were the ones responsible for all these deaths," said Mike Rubin, a 26-year-old junior at SOU who served in Iraq for seven months in 2004. "They haven't clarified if these were Iraqis killing Iraqis, if these were Iranian insurgents killing Iraqis, if this was IEDs (improvised explosive devices) from Syria or Iran."
The red flags were planted by veterans, however, who say they intended only to honor those who choose to serve and wanted to call attention to the human cost of the war.
"I don't think there was any disrespect intended to those who have served in Iraq or killed in Iraq," said Daniel Guy, 53, who served in the Army and the Army National Guard for 17 years. "To me, no longer wearing the uniform, I feel like my highest duty of citizenship is as a steward to the men and women still wearing the uniform so that their efforts aren't wasted."
Questioning the numbers
The white flags represent all deaths that have occurred both as a direct and indirect result of the 2003 invasion by comparing death rates before and after that year, said Rudy Dietz, the national coordinator of the exhibit. The figures are taken from the Lancet study published in October 2006 by a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad.
The 655,000 statistic is significantly higher than many estimates, including the Iraq Body Count, which estimates 83,000 to 90,000 Iraqis have died since March of 2003. At least one study, done by the British polling agency Opinion Research Business, places the count at over one million casualties.
Dietz asserts that the Lancet study is the most accurate assessment so far, and he provides volunteers with a thick packet of information to back up the study.
"People who exhibit disbelief, I think it's more of a visceral reaction, that no, this couldn't possibly be," said Rudy Dietz, national coordinator for the Iraq Body Count Exhibit. "I just encourage people to look at the article, look at the methods used, and do a little research themselves."
The main point of the exhibit is not to focus on exact numbers, said student organizer Danny Moffat, noting that size of the exhibit has been scaled down, with each flag representing approximately 5 casualties.
He maintains that the display is not political, because it does not suggest what action the U.S. should take in Iraq. He wants visitors simply to consider the large impact of the war.
"It really puts a whole new perspective as far as the human costs of the war because it's a visual representation," he said. "You'll get a couple of people who are very upset or angry, but either way, it's usually a very emotional reaction because it is a very powerful exhibit," he said.
The school's stance
The veterans who dislike the exhibit said they support free speech, but say the location of the exhibit makes it appear the school is promoting the message. Newfield, Rubin and Austin Loreman, who has not served in the military, met with SOU's Vice President of Student Affairs Jonathan Eldridge earlier this week to hear the school's position on the issue and make a proposal of their own.
The school remains neutral, Eldridge said, but they do support student groups' efforts to stimulate debate and discussion on campus as long as they do not violate school policies or create discrimination.
"The university says, look, we need to be a place of open discourse and a variety of opinions and beliefs and values and backgrounds," he said. "Not everyone is going to like everything, but that's part of what higher education is about. It's getting people exposed to those different things, questioning your own values, questioning other people's values."
The students were less than satisfied with some of his answers.
"It would be one thing to have it in the courtyard with people handing out literature to raise debate as Jonathan said, but to have it just scattered all over the yard and the numbers not be correct, or skewed, sends a blurred and unfair message to the community," Loreman said.
The three are planning a similar memorial of their own for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with an American flag for every death posted on campus the week before Memorial Day. They have already raised $500 from local businesses toward the effort.
The current exhibit will be removed beginning at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Staff writer Julie French can be reached at 482-3456 ext. 227 or jfrench@dailytidings.com.
