On April 14, outside of Thompson Hall on the University of New Hampshire (UNH) campus, students and community members gathered to protest the ongoing war in Iran. The event was organized by the student organization UNH Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), in collaboration with UNH College Republicans and the UNH Turning Point USA chapter.
“Young Americans for Liberty has always been a very anti-war organization,” said Matt Brooks, one of the event organizers and an executive board member of UNH YAL.
Students holding protest signs and flags Credit: Rebecca Colby
The Iran war began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched targeted strikes across Iran, one of which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation’s supreme leader. Since then, various airstrikes and bombings have been carried out, resulting in numerous fatalities on both sides. The United States and Iran are currently in ceasefire discussions; however, tensions remain high.
“I hosted [this event]to really make it clear that students care about these issues,” said Alexander Fenton, the president of UNH YAL and the event’s organizer. “The whole point is that we’re anti-war and we should come together as students.”
The rally was sponsored in part by Bruce Fenton, a Durham resident and father of the YAL chapter president. “I like to encourage anything that’s an anti-war, pro-peace message with UNH because it's close to the heart, being a New Hampshire local resident,” said Fenton. Fenton says he has always been passionate about anti-war causes, and was active in the anti-war movement during the Gulf War and conflicts in Afghanistan.
Rep. Kelley Potenza (R-N.H.) of Strafford District 19, attended and spoke at the event. “I just can’t stay silent. So many people voted for an administration, a president that repeatedly said ‘no more, no more foreign endless wars, no more—all of this’, and here we are in another conflict.”
Several members of the Palestinian Support Coalition (PSC) were in attendance, including founding member and president Emory Stevens, a third-year UNH student. “We’re here with PSC in observance of this event and also to try and let people know the true nature of this event, who it's being hosted by, and their real reasons for being out here,” said Stevens.
PSC Members holding the Palestinian flag Credit: Rebecca Colby
Stevens noted that the rally focused primarily on United States soldiers entering into combat in Iran, instead of the civilians living in those areas.
“Of course it is horrible, but it is about the Iranian people, it is about the Palestinian people, it’s about the Lebanese people. That is what we need to be worried about, and we need to focus on the protection and safety of those people, ” said Stevens.
