War shapes discussion at Carson High School

Tony Mele,17, was the first student to arrive at his American history class Thursday afternoon.

"Are we going to turn on the TV?" he asked as he stepped through the doorway.

Like many Americans, Carson High School students were eager to learn about the latest developments in the day-old war with Iraq.

"I want to know what's going on," Mele said. "It affects me because I'm enlisting in the Marine Corps."

Teacher Matt Morgan dedicated the entire class period to an open discussion of everything ranging from tactical warfare in the Middle East to possible terrorist attacks within the United States.

"This is a social-studies class," he said. "These are the things that affect their lives. It's good to study the past but you need to talk about what's going on now, too."

Terms such as "scud missile" and "targets of opportunity" floated up through conversation as students crowded through the hallways.

Jamie Silsby, 17, said it was surreal to come home from work Wednesday to see her family huddled around the television.

"It was like a movie," she said. "It's amazing what can happen so fast. When I left for work, nothing was really going on.

Morgan polled his class earlier this week and found 10 students support the war while 13 oppose it.

Although most could see rationale on both sides of the debate, there were still firm positions taken.

"We've had so many problems with Saddam Hussein," Alicia Laverdure, 17, said. "We need to stop him because he keeps threatening our country. We need to stop it so don't have to live in terror."

Jim Gustafson, 16, disagreed.

"I don't really see how protesting for the war is really bringing unity. Fighting and bombing doesn't bring people together," he said. "Fighting wars for peace is pretty much an oxymoron."

Regardless of position, junior Haleigh Alfarez said, Americans should stand behind the Armed Forces.

"I wrote to a friend of mine in the Navy last night," she said. "He said that the people on his ship feel like Americans don't back them up.

"They're there fighting already. We should support them."

Morgan told his students this war would bring unconventional warfare with a possibility of terrorist attacks within the United States.

He passed around a brochure with detailed photos of the effects of the smallpox virus.

"When you say smallpox it means something totally different than if you see it," he said.

Even after seeing the pictures, Chris Laverdure, 16, said he felt safe.

"I think the danger mostly is going to be in bigger cities," he said. "Out here in Carson, there's not many people so they couldn't get many casualties."

Silsby wasn't convinced.

"I worry how North Korea said they're going to send a bomb here," she said. "If they hit San Francisco, we'd get a lot of the fallout here."

Lars Bresse is spending the year in Carson City as a foreign-exchange student from Berlin, Germany.

His government has expressed its emphatic opposition to the war and his parents are worried for him.

"I want to be home," he said. "I think it's a little bit safer there."

Melissa Champon, 10, wore a T-shirt boasting an U. S. flag to Pi-on Hills Elementary School in Minden on Thursday.

"I wore it because I felt I should be proud of my country," she said. "I'm kind of nervous for war, but I'm glad we have someone protecting our country."

Blake Johnstone, 11, has a brother serving in the military and is considering joining the Marine Corps when he's old enough.

"I'm kind of worried about him because I don't want him getting hurt, but it makes me proud that he's serving us and trying to keep us all safe," he said.

Blake's father served in Vietnam and his grandfather fought in World War II.