Braving freezing temperatures, thousands of protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. Saturday in order to protest the possible war with Iraq. The numbers included 15 Brandeis students, many of whom are active in the Anti-War Coalition, Radical Student Alliance, Students for a Just Society and other anti-war organizations."The incredible thing was that there was a constant energy, despite the cold. And, it was damn cold. The creativity, commitment and the sense of family that came about was poured into this event by every single person that attended," Alexander Van Duyne Bean '05 said.

"The Brandeis tradition of social justice mandates us to speak out against the war. During the Vietnam era, Brandeis was a hotbed of activist activity, with the national student strike headquartered in Professor Gordie Fellman's office in Pearlman," Activist Resource Center leader Jocelyn Berger '03 said.

Berger said she assisted many Brandeis students with finding transportation to the event. Many Brandeis students traveled with Boston Mobilization, a peace-promoting organization that brought 150 protesters from the Boston area. Those 150 did not make up the total number of Boston-area attendees -- nearly 1,000 traveled individually or with other organizations.

Boston Mobilization Development Director and Acting Program Director Alex Cheney said that their goal, aside from bringing as many people as possible to the rally, was "to make it too costly politically for our leaders to bring our country to war."

Although U.S. Capitol Police said they estimate 50,000 people were involved in the march, protest organizers have refuted that estimate, saying 500,000 protesters participated.

"I stood on the base of a lamppost and looked in front of me and behind me and from there I could see a seemingly unending mass of people stretching in either direction," Julia Moskowitz '05 said.

The International Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition sponsored the protests, along with coordinated demonstrations in California, Oregon, Iowa, Florida, Michigan and at least 30 other countries.

Many political and cultural leaders spoke at the rally. Some of the more renowned speakers included Reverend Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist Mahdi Bray, actors Jessica Lange and Tyne Daly, Representative John Conyers, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. The rally also had peace-preaching performances by singer Patti Smith, a cappella duet Pam Parker and Lucy Murphy and British pop group Chumbawumba.

Rally attendees said they remain steadfast in their opposition to a potential war with Iraq. "No Blood for Oil" was among one of the most popular phrases used in the protesters' posters.

"Our government is pushing a policy with no legal support for an American invasion of a country with some of the largest oil reserves in the world. And that's what this is about," Cheney said.

But, oil wasn't the only issue the protesters focused upon.

"Preemptive strikes are illegal by international law, and in war we would need the support of the United Nations and international community," Berger said. "The revving of the war machine is a pathetic attempt to divert attention from the poor economy and state of domestic affairs. The $2 billion dollars being spent on the defense budget is money taken away from social services, public schools, health care and other government entitlements we deserve."

"Saddam Hussein is a ruthless dictator who deprives his people of freedom and human rights," Berger added. "But, an illegal military intervention is not the right way to fix the problem."

"I am morally opposed to killing unless there is a clear and present danger to our security. A war will make weapons harder to find and may lead to counterattacks against Israel or the destabilization of Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons," Matthew Andrews '03 said.

The speculations of the aftermath of such a war has presented itself quite frequently in many of the protesters' slogans and signs. "The outcome of such a war would ruin any kind of image our country may have in supporting international law or in human rights," Cheney said.

"The United States has a responsibility to maintain peace, not a right to get whatever we want by using that power ... we should be able to come up with a way to interact with Iraq peacefully so both countries can benefit by it rather than using our resources to assert control and domination," Judith Mendelsohn '05 said.

President Bush and much of Congress did not witness the demonstration; President Bush was at Camp David and most Congress members spent the weekend elsewhere.

Despite the president's absence, Anne Conger '03 said she believes the rally had a significant effect in exposing the nation to a choice other than war. "The rally made it much more difficult for people in our country and around the world to believe President Bush when he says that we are united in support of a war with Iraq," she said. "It's important for people to understand that blind support of our government's actions is not their only option."