Two dozen members of the Sweet Briar College and local communities gathered at dusk on Monday, March 19 for a candlelight vigil on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War.
After assembling in front of Memorial Chapel and lighting candles, participants read prayers and reminiscences from the families of some of the more than 3,000 soldiers who have died in the war.
We’d be a sorry remnant of the English Empire today if none of the original colonists had had the courage to disagree with their government. – Jennifer CrispenJennifer Crispen, longtime SBC field hockey coach and associate professor, organized the event in conjunction with the political action group MoveOn. “I am committed to citizens speaking out when they see a wrong, however unpopular their opinion might be,” Crispen said.
Assistant Professor Debbie Kasper and her daughter Lucia. Photo by Alix Ingber. “It is something I can model for my students. We do not have to agree on an issue to support speaking out and political action. We’d be a sorry remnant of the English Empire today if none of the original colonists had had the courage to disagree with their government.”
According to MoveOn.org, the Sweet Briar vigil was one of more than 1,000 scheduled across the country. “Americans … are more concerned than ever about our direction in Iraq,” Crispen wrote on her Facebook profile.
“Now is the time for Congress to force a change. … We’ll solemnly honor the sacrifice made by more than 3,000 soldiers and contemplate the path ahead of us. We cannot send tens of thousands of exhausted and under-equipped and unprepared soldiers into the middle of an Iraqi civil war. … Stop the escalation. Bring the troops home.”
For more information, visit
www.MoveOn.org.
— By
Suzanne Ramsey,
SBC staff writer
