Dying for a College Education

Would you die for your right for an education? Students and professors in Iraq have, and yet people adamantly keep coming to class.

On January 16, 2007, over 70 people were killed and over 169 injured in an attack at a Baghdad university. Established in 1223 and one of the oldest universities in the world, Mustansiriya University has been subject to continual violence since the beginning of the Iraq war, as have universities all throughout Iraq.

Did you know that since this conflict began in 2003, thousands of academics have been systemically targeted and killed? Here is a list of killed, threatened or kidnapped Iraqi academics. In July 2006, The Middle East Studies Association and the American Association of University Professors released a joint statement expressing their horror over the peril faced by professors and students in Iraq.

And yet, students and professors still come to class. Although many have stayed away, many others adamantly refuse to let terrorists take away their right to an education.

Tomorrow, as I prepare to begin the new semester, these noble professors and students will be close to my heart. The aggravations I face in academia are laughable. Students who text message in class? Classroom equipment that breaks down?

And students, please, appreciate your education because it's a privilege. Your 8 a.m. class, your boring professor, you endless stack of reading-- all of it is a privilege that your fellow students halfway around the world are dying for. If you can walk to class and not have to worry about if you're going to make it there, it's a good day.

And perchance that a professor or student is reading this in Iraq, please know that you are in my heart and I stand with you.