LETTER TO THE EDITOR: I’m writing today to respond to an article which appeared on the April 13, 2026
edition of your paper. The article, “On the Iranian conflict and finals,” by your editor
Sebastian T. Blackwood, is a call for students to focus on their studies as finals season
approaches, rather than commit all of their effort on protesting the War in Iran.
“There is nothing any given person at this university can do about [the war].” Indeed,
not one person can. But three hundred people, a thousand people, all focusing their
will, their attention, on one single action? We, my fellow students, are not helpless.
I hold no ill will towards the author, of course, despite my disagreement with his
approach to resisting the violence our government is actively committing, that is to say,
no resistance whatsoever. When discussing the content of his article, I can refute very
few of the facts presented: we are indeed in a war with Iran, which is costing
thousands of lives and threatening crucial infrastructure for the survival of millions
more in the region; we are indeed approaching our final exams of the academic year,
which requires a great deal of focus for all of our students; the methods of protest
presented in the article by Mr. Blackwood are not effective. Eh bien, despite the wave
of protests over the last four months, we have not seen even a de-escalation of conflict,
of loss of life, or even the return of trade through the Strait of Hormuz. Quite the
contrary!
However, Mr. Blackwood presents us in this article with a false binary. If we
live in a world where the only options to resist the injustices of our nation are the
choices presented, protest or finals, it is more effective to focus on finals. But those
aren’t the only options: mass protests, while being great moments in the history books
and the journal, are the beginning of action, not the end. They are an expression of
frustration. He tells us that “[student protest] often becomes a manifestation for
avoidance.” We are not being delinquents, we seek justice in our communities.
Mr. Blackwood proposes that students focus on their studies, that “the student
who masters their discipline today is far more likely to influence the world tomorrow
than the one who exhausts themselves in unfocused opposition.” In that final phrase
we find the truth that I wish to highlight today: unfocused opposition. It is true, a
single college student protesting will not gain the respect of politicians, neither of
conservative voters reading the news of their protest. Instead, we should organize our
resistance and commit ourselves to a focused opposition.
For example, the Maine People’s Alliance achieved a great victory this year
through their consistent effort to apply pressure to decision-makers. They wrote, they
called, they were, in a word, annoying. But through their annoyance the millionnaires
who vacation in our homes will have to pay their fair share. In 2021, Mainers
organized and passed P.L. 2021 Chapter 231, which divested Maine from fossil fuel
companies. The hungry cat that sits on the sill will not receive food unprompted, but if
the cat screams and annoys their owner enough, they may get their food. So let us be
with our opposition to war!
An undercurrent in Mr. Blackwood’s article is the Stoic idea of worrying about
the things you can control. He writes to “make certain of our impotence.” It is true
that no amount of organizing from only the student body of the University of Maine
will put an immediate end to the war. Focus on things you can control: pressure our
leaders of UMaine to divest from those companies that profit off of the war! Seek the
organizations actively fighting so that our University no longer supports genocide in
Gaza!
It is true, as well, that our education is important. Without it, we are all snarky
college students who dream of change. But another false binary presents itself in this
article: you can study and combat injustice at the University. Another benefit of this
focused opposition is that students will create connections and make great headways
into their communities. They will learn to be empathetic people, they will be able to
use these connections to fight injustice and to create opportunities for all.
I would like to end by paraphrasing my favorite philosopher, Albert Camus. In
his book, The Rebel, he proposes the idea of the Revolt. Many people will realize that
the world is full of injustice, or that it is absurd. But some will see that injustice and
fight against it and will recognize that others will fight, too. I ask my fellow students to
ask ourselves, do we want to put our heads down and let injustice happen, send
thoughts and prayers, or do we want to affect change together for the justice of all?
