UNIVERSITY
While servinu \nth th<‘ I s Marines durimt the Persian (odt H«ir f /mmih student
about the i ultur.il :nisunderstantlint;s betw een f/it’ W i'st and Mobile l .ist
Photo b\ Nn«!rr K jinrn
I fit/1 Hams learned mure
War service changes student’s
perspective on differing cultures
By Came Dennett
Emerald Reporter
Andy Harris thought In- would lie able to make
it through thf last vi*ar ot Ins six year commit
merit to the Marine dorps Reserves without inn
dent
Then on Dei 8. Ditto. he found himself head
ing to damp Pendleton in California for a month
of intensive basil training to prepare tor a tour of
duty in the Persian C.ulf
Harris, a Hntversity politic al si lem e major,
was given 10 days notue. leaving little time to
wrap up his life in Kugene
Students in his position were given the option
ot t.iking finals early or w ithdrawing from si hool
Harris took the middle road, taking a few finals
early and withdrawing from other classes he
wasn't doing as well in
1 lams said his reserves training did a lair job ot
preparing him tor dut\ hut it was the training at
damp Pendleton that made it clear he was going
to war
"The training was pretty intense he said At
that point, we knew were headed tor Saudi Ara
bia
The full days of training began with a a a m
wake-up and included training in demolitions
w eapons urban combat and mine detei lion and
removal
knowing they were heading for the lighting
brought home the realities of rvar and military
serve e to many' of his i o trainees. 1 lams said
"I think there were a lot of scared people he
said "Morale was pretty low
"Vie had heard all about the mother of all bat
ties.' tile i hemical weapons, the St oils and the
Republican Cuard, he said A lot of us didn t
know tor sure if we were coming bai k
When his unit arrived in Saudi Arabia they
immediately went to work building fortifications
,iiid setting up helicopter landing pads
At the same time, training continued for their
expected mission of taking out mines when ( S
led forces eventually entered Kuwait
The mission ivns never realized however
"When we finally did go into Kuwait we
found almost no resistance, lie said
Harris said his unit also served as a reserve
force in i ase ot a high casualty rate a si enario
that never materialized
Harris’ unit oxperiem nd very little danger he
said A few people in his unit were shot at, but he
was nowhere near at the time
" The only Iraqis I saw were either captured or
dead.” he said.
One reason his unit saw little action. Harris
said, yvas because the allies tei hnology excceded
expectations as successful air strikes eliminated
the need for heavy ground action
Harris said Ins unit did have a stare the night
that the Iraqis came across the Saudi border and
took the town of hhatji
His unit was relaxing when they got word that
the Iraqis were heading toward them, .mil the\
quit kI\ put mi < hemit .il protec live gear
Ihe Iraqi furies instead headed fur hhafji.
about seven miles away from where the unit was
camped, vet Harris unit remained on alert tor
mm h nt the next two days
"We were very i lose to them and we i on Id see
them lighting in the distance lie said We
i nuld see the Hashes from the artillery in the
night sky
Harris said his gulf experienie on leased Ins
desire to leave the military .mil his cultural
knowledge ot Persian (iuIf nations
"It made me realize even more how little tin
derstanding the vast maturity of people have
about the rest of the world he said
I think that until we learn to In- more open
minded about other ways of thought we will
continue to get into these kinds of i onflii Is
Harris said prior visits to I lord World i nun
tries gave hill! a different perspei live
I think I learned not to be so i ritual of other
i ultures. he said "We weren't brought up with
the only way of doing things
Harris said Ills opinions on cultural differences
go against the military's attitudes and that many
of the soldiers believed the l ulled States was
completely m the right
I hey naiv ely felt that it was a blai k and w lute
situation right against wrong." he said
Harris said the Marines do encourage soldiers
to think for themselves but they also try to
drum into our heads the military line
lie said it the 1' S military had more respect
tor Islamic t ulture. it may have projei ted a better
image to the i ivilian population in the gull re
gion
Maybe more people would have realized that
war is not just about statistics ' he said "It s
about real people (list like themselves
Harris said he is not sure it his experience m
the gulf has had a major impact on him
It has made me aware of the tac t that I should
make the most ot inv own life and opportuni
ties he said
Harris returned home on May 1 lie still had a
place to live, but it was too late to register tor
1 lasses and lie found he no longer had a |ob
He has taken the opportunity to speak to a lew
i lasses about his experience
"I was somewhat concerned about how I would
be received." he said "While I am a Marine I ni
not the Marine (lorps
Nonetheless Harris said he has been received
well by friends and fellow students alike
"The people that know I was there even the
ones who were against the war respei ted my de
i ision.' he said
Oregon
DAILY EMERALD
ft I 1 . ,.,H III. V ■ ,1
. ■ . . ' • ! m i *. .
M
I ill I Of
M/*n*gsny f (Mot
F ditwial t cjilo*
Politic* l diloc
Qiaphtc* I c1t!o»
Suppl#rn®nl» I <1ito»
In Touch f dlto»
‘»- ■, Hu<!
n. {' wj-.i
Mr* -
Layf^v l Akehnh
A'- m M.-iN' k<
N»w« l ditor
f dllonal Fdito? r »’ M < • '
Sporla f di!o» A '
f nl«rtainm#nl Fddof ■ - •
Supplements A*.%t Fd • . ' *■
Nighl t diiof
A-mooat© Editor*
Community Student tionernment A< tivilie*
Higher tducatkwv'Admim*trAlton ,
Reporter* ' i . S» »*• . 1 . ' * ‘ 1 " "
fir- * i M • H. •; •• Nr i •• V. - .} *J• ■ •!' . I > •
Tt .ipp** Rpb<*M
Photographers < \ A *• > ■
At1v#rti»mg • A . V » •- - i • " *«*
- , • t, • k m N • r . * ' i V ••*»*> •
. . . Hi ' i M.« . i Kiift*• * mtr K '»! •*-.-<
Cla»*ifMKl .. ‘V - V.» . ;• - * , V M
Business h »!f . • '
Production i !■ i , i •• -'* '• '• '* M* ‘ 1
A > • • ■ ii «f . • |
Mi- ,i 1 M- ' M , , ’ 1 ► I u'. ■ M-I-*.I . M «'. t -•• ' -•• M t-t’ A I
Rom be '* ' Jennifer Round l> R Jennifer Smith A■ •'.inphi--is. Steve
■Tv ■ a nv'c.cj Jttfi'ii'wf Th.-mas M>. W<r»»*r ’ tPJ Wiltidm*.
General Manager
Pioduc hon M ,inag**r
N**wfsroom Busme** Office
Production
346 *>S1 1
I4h \ lf.1
Advot tiling uti*n ti>#
DupUy Advoittimy 34t^ \7VJ
Gl i . »iti«d Adv®ftiiing J4t» 4 34 I
EARLY REGISTRATION $2.00 OFF
May 29, 30, 31
June 18 August 8 • (8 weeks)
Class
FITNESS
A e l f • f 11 ■ '.
Beneh Aerobics
Aerobics
Bench Aerobics
Aerobe s
Aerobic s
Aer obit, s
Af : ! "■ • .!!•» WK !
Weigh! W-. • rw * -u!
Wafer Aff..r>i< •.
Waler Aer bn •.
Da^ Time Loc.it ion Gost
MW /am
UH /am
UH 12 30pm
MW 130pm
UH 6 30pm
MW 4 40pm
UH 12 30pm
MW 6 40pm
UH 6 30pm
Ger 220 $18
Ger 220 $18
Ger 220 $ 18
Ger 220 $18
Ger 220 $1H
Ger 220 $18
t si M> $18
Ger pool $23
Ger pool $23
DANCE
Swm.j ’ *»i
Ballroom
T ap II
Tap I
JVZ H
JduV I
M *> 30pm
W *> lOpm
MW i 30pm
UH 3 30pm
MW *) 00pm
UH *> 00pm
GerX B50 S»b
Ger B50 $18
G#»f 219 $18
Gor 21'I $18
Gar 219 S'H
G«r 219 $18
June 10 August 8 • (9 weeks)
Low impact
Aerobic s UH *> 15pm f si 43 S?1
For more min ,iihJ enrollment < all *4113 or come by 103 Gerlmger Hall
L
THE FAR SIDE
By GARY LARSON
1
We can t go this way either, Simmons See those
lines9 That s the international cartoon symbol tor
glass1 He s got us good, the dirty bugger