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Reality of War Hits Campus
by Heather Tourtellotte
Jesse and his date Ashley Bullman, and Levi Freeburg and his date Gabrielle Hendron
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As possible war with Iraq looms closer, thousands of reservists have been called to active service, and many of them are college students. One Marine reservist is a senior at Mars Hill College.
While students were preparing to head back to school on January 13 after Christmas vacation, Jesse Jones got the call from his commander. Within one day he had to pack, inform his parents and friends, and inform the school that he was leaving. By the next evening he had left for Greenville, South Carolina to meet his unit, which would be sent to California and from there to the Persian Gulf area.
Jones has been on alert since September 11, 2001, when President Bush approved an order to call up reserves to active duty. Having to possibly go into combat became more of a reality for him at the end of last semester, when he had to rearrange his exam times because he had to report to his base for the anthrax vaccine. In January, when he got the call to go to the Persian Gulf, Jones was only one semester away from graduating. He was double majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a concentration in Criminal Justice. Jones was also a Bonner Scholar.
Many students might remember the Gulf War in 1993 and may even have had family members involved in the fighting. However they were too young to have had close friends being brought in to fight. Now, with the possibility of another war with Iraq, they and their friends may have to fight.
The impending war "brings reality that warfare is serious business, and it involves the vulnerability of people who we know and love. They are not just soldiers but students as well," said Political Science Professor George Peery.
As of now the draft hasn't been reinstated. The last time it was in effect was during the Vietnam War, and it was done by a lottery. A recent proposal to bring the draft back was not supported by Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.
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