Hundreds gathered in front of the Chapel Wednesday as students and faculty--even a few from other universities--took up the megaphone in opposition to a war on Iraq.
Following an hour of soap-boxing, protest organizers led an energized crowd in a march around the main quadrangle, shouting out slogans such as "No blood for oil!" and "Bush, Cheney, what do you say? How many kids did you kill today?"
Protest organizers said they felt the large turnout was indicative of the protest's success and that it was a good starting point for further discussion. The protest, which came one day before Congress votes on a war resolution, was organized by a relatively new coalition of students who have met over the past several weeks to discuss U.S. military action in Iraq.
"This [protest] was successful because it was just a bunch of individuals'Äînot a formal group'Äîwho are concerned with the issue. It really unites the campus," said sophomore Sajid Anwar, one of the protest organizers. "Now I think that more people will be involved until the issue is resolved."
Senior Jillian Johnson, who also helped organize the rally, noted that at least 75 people signed up to receive more information about the case against military action in Iraq.
Many of those who spoke Wednesday said that President George W. Bush's attitude toward Iraq is such that active protest is absolutely necessary.
"Regardless of whether or not we can stop the war, we must protest. We have no choice," said Becky Thompson, visiting associate professor of African and African American Studies. "We, the people gathered here today, make a promise not to leave our pens, our words, our actions lying in somebody else's blood."
Thompson likened the United States' recent history with Iraq to a fairy tale gone awry, in which Bush's administration is doing what his father's could not.
"It's a simple story of father to son: 'I'm doing your work, daddy. Are you proud of me?'" Thompson said. "To me it seems like [the United States] missed a really early lesson on how to play in the sandbox."
Associate Professor of English Srinivas Aravamudan also addressed the crowd, articulating three objections to a war with Iraq. He said the most troubling of these was that a shift to a pre-emptive strategy could encourage other nations to take similarly unjustified actions.
"It is utterly irresponsible. We are embarking on a new imperial era of carnage," Aravamudan said. "By opposing this war, we're also opposing many, many other such wars."
One of the students, junior David Allen, put the situation with Iraq into a Christian context and said that too many Christians use a sentimental attachment to Israel to dehumanize attacks against the Arab world.
"I'm here as a Christian to say that this world is unholy," Allen said. "The gospel demands that we oppose this war."
Many students in attendance said they were glad the protest had taken place and that so many students had participated.
"[Bush's] administration has been brilliant in making a case against Iraq out of no substantial evidence," said freshman Jared Fish, who did not help organize the protest, but who is a member of the coalition. "I'm glad people are finally listening, talking about it and getting upset about it. It's a great start."
Sophomore Toby Chu said she was not previously involved in any of the anti-war discussions, but that the protest had excited her interest in the topic. "I don't know a lot about opposition to the war with Iraq, and that's why I came to the protest," she said.
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