Professors have not strayed from their curriculum to discuss the Iraqi conflict separately in class, but most found a way to weave the subject into the day’s lesson.

“Essentially, I showed a map recapping military action taken so far as I understand,” said Charles Titus, assistant history professor about a day’s events in his HIS 3920 U.S. Military class. “I made the decision to do this because it dealt with the curricular material — it seemed appropriate.”

Bill Kirk, a psychology professor, integrated the Iraqi conflict into his second year clinical psychology class.

“We talked about the individuals they might be treating who have people anxiety and have loved ones in the war,” Kirk said. “The students were extremely interested because we discussed how to treat and heal those people.

“It was a natural thing to talk about.”

Last week, George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his sons a 48-hour ultimatum to exile Iraq or face military consequences. When the time period ended with no Hussein action, the U.S. military took action last Wednesday.

Since then, media coverage of the conflict has been thorough, although critics say it is too exposing. Reed Benedict, a sociology professor, discussed the new coverage style that trained journalists and embedded them within the military.

“We discussed how the media and/or military shapes the perceptions of the individuals of society,” Benedict said. “The media and the military have always been separate identities – now they are the same.”

The class, Benedict said, looked at the advantages and disadvantages of embedding journalists. Student reaction varied.

“There was apprehension with the journalists that they are giving us too much information,” Benedict said. “But others, in this age of information, see it in their best interest to see how the military operates.”

On the flipside, one political science class discussed the international perspective Iraqi conflict.

“I’m not going to structure a class around it, but the class is not on American foreign policy, but rather the world’s perspective on the situation,” political science professor Ryan Hendrickson said.

“The students asked some great questions – they asked who is supporting the United States and about the Bush administration.”

Other professors, who did not have curriculum that connected with the conflict so easily, still answered questions on the topic.

“I haven’t directly talked about it in any of my classes,” said philosophy chair Gary Aylesworth. “The students have not asked anything about it, but we would students want to discuss it we could discuss it.”

Sgt. David McKinney, a professor in the military science department, answered some questions about his perspectives on the situation – he said it wasn’t a taboo subject — but didn’t set class time aside. Terry Barnhart, a history professor, did.

“It was an interesting conversation,” Barnhart said. “It was quite surprised students weren’t as informed, but it was worthwhile. We tried to put the situation in historical content.”

Hendrickson said the students should gain information on the conflict through the media and not in classes.

“I pretty much kept on my normal schedule because I felt the students can educate themselves from the normal media,” he said. “If anything, I thought they would need a break from it in class because they hear about it everywhere else.”

Titus, on the other hand, will discuss current events at the beginning of class.

“We will try to stay in touch with what is happening,” he said. “I’d like to spend more time on it than I do, but I don’t feel we have the time.”