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First appeared on March 6, 2003
A crowd of students, professors and local residents gathered in front of the Univerity of Maine’s Fogler Library yesterday at noon for an anti-war rally. The rally was part of the national “Books not Bombs” one-day student strike. The event began with chants and rally cries, followed by several speakers from local communities. The crowd was dotted with people holding signs with messages such as, “Innocent Blood: $1.09 a Gallon” and “Peace is a path, not a goal.” Others screamed words of discouragement to the group, carrying signs supporting war with Iraq.
“[I'm here because] I’ve got that much respect for the government,” Dan McNutt, an opponent to the rally, said. “We are not afraid to show our support.”
Despite the opposition, the rally remained peaceful and the overwhelming majority showed their opposition to war.
“We are not here to hate one another,” Jenny Leland, one of the organizers of the event, said. “I support our troops. I support every individual out there. I do not support this war.”
Following the rally, people were invited to go to the Bangor Lounge in the Memorial Union for further discussion and a short concert by Renaissance. The discussions were led by several speakers, including Peter Millard, a family doctor who spent time working in Zimbabwe, Andrew Barnes, a graduate student studying French, and Stephanie Strong. They covered issues including France’s opposition to war and justification for war with Iraq.
The last event of the day was a teach-in led by Michael Howard, a professor of philosophy and peace activist.
Those involved had various reasons for avoiding class and spending the day protesting for peace. Some admitted it was strictly for the free food offered at the events and others said they just wanted an excuse to get out of class. But the majority of attendees said that they wanted their voices to be heard and to stand against what they see as an unjust war.
“Killing more people in the name of war doesn’t solve anything,” Bree Blalock, an organizer of the events, said. “We want to stand against this [war] and speak for those who can’t.”
