Local residents and students gathered at the Eugene Federal Building plaza for an anti-war rally Saturday, marking a national day of action and the one-year anniversary of the USA Patriot Act.
The rally coincided with rallies in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and other cities nationwide. Bahati Ansari, director of Racism-Free Zone at Jefferson Middle School, hosted the rally, which also featured Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and award-winning radio journalist Alan Siporin.
A crowd of about 500 gathered for an address concerning the possibility of war in Iraq, the war on terrorism and the harmful repercussions of the Patriot Act.
Many people held protest signs that read, “Nonviolence works” and “No blood for oil.” Vehicles drove by, honking at the crowd and the signs. Most drivers honked in support while others yelled at the crowd to “Go home.” One drove by waving a sign reading, “Support our president.”
Siporin advised the crowd to be positive about the anti-war movement’s progress and suggested the best way to gain more participants is through “word of mouth.”
“Word of mouth: It may sound simplistic, but that’s how people change,” he said.
Comparing the movement to the one that stemmed from the Vietnam War, he said the challenge is not mounting a movement to end a war, but to prevent one.
“It’s very empowering to be part of a group of people who come together to create positive change,” University senior Heather Gordon said. Gordon’s sign read, “Let’s practice pre-emptive peace.”
Many Eugene residents also attended the San Francisco rally on Saturday. A bus transported 47 people to San Francisco to attend the rally and march. Students for Peace, a budding activist group in Eugene, organized the transportation. Many others made the drive on their own.
According to Nathaniel N-T, a member of the group who traveled to San Francisco, more than 80,000 people participated in the rally and march.
“The march was just huge — the whole street was filled,” he said. “Eugene had a pretty big presence there.”
N-T said he was happy with the peacefulness of the crowd and was surprised to see many participants from the military as well as support from the San Francisco police.
Other members of Students for Peace attended the rally in Eugene. They encouraged people to sign a petition in protest of a pre-emptive strike against Iraq.
“Right now we’re trying to educate people and get them involved,” said Delicate, a Students for Peace member who prefers to use only one name.