“Justice, not war,” “Peace is patriotic” and “One planet, one future, one people” were a few of the visual messages sprinkled around the EMU Amphitheater at the Campus Day of Solidarity rally Wednesday. Similar rallies took place at universities across the country for the National Student/Youth Day of Action.
Students for Peace organized the University event, aiming to inform students about the nation’s foreign policy and urging them to be activists for peace. Speakers, ranging from students to faculty members and peace activists to war veterans presented their ideas about overseas conflict with historical facts and personal accounts.
“It is time for us,” said University graduate student Mario Sifuentez, who said he promotes multiracial acceptance and student activism. “Now is the time to face the greatest evil in the world — oppression.”
Rally organizers expected anywhere from 100 to 200 people to attend, but at times there were close to 300 attendees.
“There are a lot of outraged people,” said University junior Roger Snell. Snell said he has always been an activist for peace and believes that if there is war in Iraq, the University will see more rallies.
The speakers talked about proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and international negotiations involving oil and money, cheers and hollers from the crowd punctuating their words. Some passed around a petition calling for the University administration to declare a stance against the war.

Vietnam veteran Ed Reiman spoke about the recently passed Homeland Security Bill, and the negative effects he said it will have on health care and the economy.
Students for Peace member Bill Hamman said that not only would a preemptive attack on Iraq be unjustified, but that he “refuse(s) to shed innocent blood. Not for politics, not for oil, not for anything.”
Protesters of the rally, although greatly outnumbered, held “Bush/Cheney” signs and shouted out their support for the government. Vincent Matorano, a University student and member of the Campus Republicans, said he enjoyed the rally.
“I think it’s great. It’s democracy at its best,” he said. “We are the minority, and we want to show our support for the current administration.”
Students for Peace, a collaboration of three peace activist groups, plans to hold more rallies and teach-ins to educate students and promote peace activism. According to student Melissa Jencks, one of the rally’s organizers, such events are important.
“We have to work from the bottom up,” Jencks said. “If the national government won’t listen, we’ll start with our local government.”

Sophomore Alex Gonzalez, a member of Students for Peace, said the group has more than 300 members and that they hope that the rally encouraged students to use their voices.
“Students are the key,” Gonzalez said. “They have nothing to lose, yet they have everything.”
Twenty-eight year old Margarita Smith, a student and mother of two, said she agrees remaining silent is the worst thing students can do when they are not represented.
“I think its important for people to stand up and say ‘no’ if we don’t agree with it,” she said. “I don’t think war is the solution.”
The rally ended with a short march around campus. Many people said they hope rallies across the country will encourage the U.S. government to listen to the people.
“War is an addiction that we must break,” said Gary Reiss, a Eugene resident and member of the local Middle East Peace group. “Together, we can change the world.”