Even as the conclusion of the war began to near, professors pressed for discussion of Harvard’s investment in companies providing war materiel.

More than 20 professors presented a petition to a meeting of the Faculty on April 8 questioning Harvard’s holdings in companies such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Several of the petition’s signatories, including Lecturer on Religion Brian Palmer, also favored divestment from such companies.

“Suddenly the University was in the position of…making a handsome profit from war, and that needs to be reflected upon,” Palmer says.

Jack Meyer, Director of the Harvard Management Corporation (HMC), said divestment was unlikely.

The issue quickly became moot. By April 9, the day after the petition was presented, the Iraqi regime was in its death throes. Baghdad was increasingly under U.S. control.

The first official meeting of various Iraqi political constituencies was held on April 15 to begin plotting the country’s future.

A Culture of Spectatorship

A culture of spectatorship grew up around the conflict, according to Palmer, who spoke at the 1,000-strong anti-war protest in the Yard March 20.

“The ratio of combatants to spectators has declined over the past century as new technologies have made it possible for a nation to wage war with relatively small military forces,” Palmer says. “One implication of moving toward higher and higher tech warfare is the creation of a situation where war is for many citizens mainly a matter of spectatorship, even of entertainment.”

Skomarovsky, who was actively involved in several protests, still says there was an opportunity to disconnect from the war.

“I felt that the war had almost no practical bearing on our ordinary day-to-day lives,” Skomarovsky says.

Despite this distance, Skomarovsky lauds students for trying to make a difference.

“Here there were so many people, certainly among students, who cared so deeply about the war and its consequences, who were deeply politicized and followed what was going on,” Skomarovsky says. “But I think most people felt fairly powerless about affecting the war.”

Munns, the ROTC midshipman, says that the media did not give an accurate depiction of the conflict, but praises the aggressive reporting of many news organizations.

“I think it was also sort of revolutionary, in that no other war has ever been reported this way,” Munns says. “You had unprecedented access.”