The De-Alerting Campaign Goes to College

Two of FCNL’s Legislative Interns, Jessica Braider and Lydia Milnes, visited Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges in April to educate and organize students as advocates of de-alerting nuclear weapons. Here are some of their reflections on the experience.

What is de-alerting nuclear weapons?
Lydia (LM): De-alerting is an important aspect of nuclear weapons policy. It involves taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, thus lengthening the amount of time it takes to launch a nuclear weapon and decreasing the chances of starting an accidental war.

Why did you take the de-alerting campaign to college campuses?
LM: This trip was part of a broader campaign to organize people on this issue. We wanted to get young adults involved in the campaign.

What sorts of things did you do at the colleges?
Jessica (JB): We held information sessions at both Bryn Mawr and Haverford to educate people about de-alerting. We also talked to a lot of people informally about the issue, about FCNL, and about the internship program. At Haverford, we also "tabled," which means we set up an information table in the dining hall. When people came to eat, we asked them to write letters to their members of Congress on de-alerting.

Do you think the trip was successful?
JB: No question. We expected to have 5-10 people at the info sessions, and we had 25. People were standing against the wall because there weren’t enough seats. We expected to get 20 letters written, and we had almost 60. The trip showed me that young adults really do want to be taking political action and are interested in what’s going on.

LM: I was also pleased to see that people were reading the information and looking at the video on de-alerting before they wrote letters. Students really seemed to want to be informed about the issue.

What was the high point of the trip for you?
JB: Putting all the letters that people had written in the mail, because it was such a big stack.

LM: Seeing all the people at the info sessions. Having been a student at Haverford, I remember that it was hard to get involved in extra activities because I didn’t have the time. I was especially pleased by the turnout because I know everyone was already busy but they came anyway.