But Jason P. Brinton ’00-’02, former president of the Harvard Republican Club, said he believes President Bush has not responded hastily in calling for military action, saying the administration first sought diplomatic solutions as a response.

“Diplomacy is always preferred,” Brinton said. “But when it fails, you have to have a military that is prepared to act.”

But only 32 percent of Democrats and 42 percent of independents said they would be willing to serve in the armed forces if called up to service. In contrast, 56 percent of Republicans said they would be willing to serve in a military operation.

Brinton said he wishes that all would be willing to serve in the military, no matter what political affiliation.

“I think it’s unfortunate that so many are complacent,” Brinton said. “I think as a country, we should all be willing to fight for the democracy we enjoy.”

But despite the numbers on campus revealed in The Crimson’s poll, Brinton said he believes that the country is still united against the “cancer” of terrorism.

“This is a time for unity, not partisanship,” Brinton said. “I think we’ve seen that across the country.”

—Staff writer Juliet J. Chung can be reached at jchung@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Imtiyaz H. Delawala can be reached at delawala@fas.harvard.edu.