By Marie MacKay

LOGAN -- Nearly 200 Utah State University students expressed their plea for freedom, whether for war or against it, Wednesday on the Taggart Student Center patio.

The peace rally, organized by the College Democrats and other organizations, set a standard for the rest of the university, that they want their voices to be heard.

As anti-war protestors waved their signs reading "books not bombs," and "war never works," an almost equal amount of pro-war protestors flooded the patio, uninvited.

Whether or not either group impacted the inevitability of war, it proved to awaken a topic that has been silenced since the 1970s.

"The most important thing that we could be doing is having a conversation, exchanging the ideas and deciding which piece of it we really want to believe and support," Ted Pease, head of the journalism and communication department, said.

The USU campus police intervened near the conclusion of the peace rally as several pro-war protestors stepped up to the microphone but were prohibited from speaking. Although the protestors screamed profanities and harsh statements back and forth to each other, they did not engage in any physical force.

Lt. Steve Milne of the USU campus police, said, "I thought it was great that the students voiced their opinions. I'm pleased that both groups maintained themselves."

As the keynote speaker at the rally, Pease urged the students, whether for war or against it "to find the names of your elected officials in Washington and in Utah and write them a note and tell them what you want to say.

"Beyond being a journalist, I also am a citizen and a patriot and a member of these United States, and there comes a time when we all have to stand up and talk about what we believe," he said. "I think this is fantastic. This is the first time I've seen any political engagement like this on campus."

The pro-war protestors, although were not allowed to speak, made their voices clear.

"These people really need to look at the facts and know that we don't want to kill people. We don't want to kill anybody, we want to liberate Iraq and give their people the same people the same freedom that we enjoy here in America," Jared Westbroek, a junior majoring in law and constitutional studies, said.

Students like Bryan Marshall, a graduate student studying business information systems, attended the peace rally because they felt no one else was going to say anything.

"This is wrong, we're supposed to be supporting our troops. I don't think they understand what they're talking about. Most of them just get on this bandwagon just because they think it's so cool to be against something. I'd say the majority of the people don't even know what's going on."

Among the speakers, Medlir Mema, a senior majoring in political science, stirred the crowd yelling into the microphone, "No more war! No more war! No more war!"

He said, "Iraq is not a national interest. There is no dissent. Democracy promotes dissension. We need to tell President Bush that he cannot fight in our name, he can fight in a__holes' name, but he cannot fight in our name."

Amid the yelling from both sides, other anti-war students tried to speak their minds.

Jill Henerson, a sophomore majoring in social work, said, "I'm really trying to stay educated on this issue and the social impact that it will have."

Cleveland Karren, a member of the College Democrats who is being deployed this week, tried to give the perspective of the reality of war.

”I think we're kind of just pro-peace. We understand that there are consequences for U.S. foreign policy actions and that those consequences, I mean, they are very real for American service members. I wish we could get a little more knowledge out there," he said.

NW
TJ

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