Draft Fears Lead to Strong Sentiment

By John Wray

Editor's note: The following article was assigned at the beginning of class and due after 80 minutes. We were to go out to find and interview a student somewhere on campus. We then were to propose a hypothetical question to the student: If the U.S. went to war with Iran and there was a draft, would you serve?


BOSTON—With the growing threat of United States intervention in Iran, Iain Bernhoft, a Boston University graduate student, says he would not serve if there were a draft.
“I think I’d move to Canada,” Bernhoft said when asked what he would do if drafted. But, he added with a chuckle, “I think I’m a little old for the draft.”
During an interview at a coffee shop, Bernhoft’s scraggly brown hair and equally wiry beard complemented his button-down shirt and brown sports coat. With a book open on the table, he talked about his graduate program in English, which he hopes to finish in 2011. When he explained his views on a possible draft, Bernhoft cited the United States’ role in Iraq when talking about his decision. “The War in Iraq has clearly been a mess, whether it was well intentioned or not,” Bernhoft said.
Bernhoft went on to explain that his political views wouldn’t play into the decision, saying that it was unimportant whether it was George W. Bush or Barack Obama who ordered the draft.
He noted that the United States’ increasing role as the global policeman is a troubling trend. “Should [the U.S. have been intervening] with the genocide in Rawanda? Well, yeah,” Bernhoft said. “Should they be [intervening] with nation states?” asked Bernhoft. “I think it would be a disaster.”

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