Fairfax students saw both sides of a controversial topic, the Iraq War, at a two hour assembly that brought together antiwar activists from Arlington West and recruiters from the United States Marine Corps representing the pro-war side. Thirteen history teachers brought their students and most brought two classes each.

"The purpose of the assembly was to show two sides to the war in Iraq and whether students should join the army or not... I believe it brought up important issues," said Mr. John Collier, the organizer of the assembly.

The assembly began with a video called Arlington West. Shortened from 76 to 25 minutes, it showed interviews with people present at the weekly memorial held near the Santa Monica Pier. The movie showed both sides, despite a clear bias against the war. The movie also addressed the fact that "the military is everywhere" and that No Child Left Behind mandates that schools give students' personal information to military recruiters.

“[The video] was emotional and I don’t like the war, but if no one is willing to fight, who would do it?” said junior Marquis Nicholas,

After the video, the military recruiters presented a Power Point presentation consisting of pictures of soldiers fighting. The recruiters made comparisons to the lives of young Americans in the United States to the lives of soldiers that are overseas. The presentation brought some uproar as students began to question the validity of the facts presented by the supporters of the war.

“They (supporters of the war in Iraq) only showed the good parts. Come on now, it was totally biased," said Justin Bernard, 11th grade.

Students questioned the effectiveness of the presentation. “The slide show was not as powerful as the first presentation," said junior Jonathon Amazeg.

After the presentations by both sides, the panel discussion began. Sgt. Dana Varab, Sgt. Martenson, and Mark Del Maestro, who had previous military experience, represented the pro war side. On the anti war side was Marciela Guzman, James Patterson, Helga Aguyo, and Fernando Suarez Del Solar. The student questions led the panel to the focus on two major points: educational opportunities promised by the military and the ethical reasons for entering war. Both sides passionately defending their stance on the war, leaving students to decide the issue for themselves.

Marciela Guzman, a soldier who fought in the war and an opponent to the Iraq War, was a member of the panel on stage and after the assembly stated the importance of the assembly and was amazed by the interest students had about the war. “Students had amazing questions." She said "The students demonstrated a strong knowledge of world events and showed with passion their beliefs. Even though this assembly was very emotional for me and other members alike, facts had to be addressed so the American people can make a fair judgment about what is going on."

However, despite the large support by faculty for the Iraq War assembly, some teachers opposed the assembly. One of them, history teacher Mr. Robert Read, stated that the assembly failed to be a fair debate. "The groups against the war in Iraq are political groups who have opinions regarding the war," said Mr. Reed. "However, the military is not a political group. The cannot express their support for the war. The military following commands given by the Commander in Chief."

Mr. Read felt distraught by the fact that even after the assembly, handouts in opposition to the war was given to students. He felt that the students had established a view based on a biased presentation.

The assembly nevertheless challenged students to question their various beliefs about the war.