In protest of the beginning of war in Iraq, the Anti-War Coalition (AWC) led a walkout from classes Thursday on Rabb steps, drawing between 150 and 200 students. United We Stand (UWS), a pro-American club, which distributed red, white, and blue ribbons to those in favor of the war, drew about 10 students to its simultaneous counter-protest.For the first few hours of the academic day, AWC members positioned themselves around campus, handing out flyers advertising the rally. AWC member Hilary Barshay '03 defended skipping classes, saying, "We are striking against the fact that we can sit safely in our classrooms and ignore the war if we so choose, while those in Iraq are not offered such a choice."

UWS members set themselves up in the Usdan Student Center lobby around 9:00 a.m to attract students to their counter-protest. The club has gained notoriety in recent months for being 'pro-America' and urging students to support Bush's actions by remaining in class on the day of the protest. Joshua Wiznitzer '03, UWS president, reiterated the clubs position, asking, "We're fortunate to live in America, and why walk out on a privilege afforded to us?"

Tobias Harris '05, editor of the Libertarian-Conservative magazine Concord Bridge, said the start of the war was a moment of excitement, but also one of anxiety. "We've been watching months of buildup. It's almost relaxing (now)," Harris said. "At the same time, war is not a good thing. Hopefully it will go well and the troops will come home safe."

"It's going about our lives," Harris said. "These people (members of the Armed Forces) are fighting so we can maintain our lives."

At 10:30 a.m. Rabb Humanities Quad filled with the noise of beating drums and a chant of "one, two, three, four, we don't want this unjust war!" Within a few minutes, the area began to fill with students and faculty. Professor Gordon Fellman (SOC), who has been a leading anti-war voice among the faculty, spoke of his complete dissatisfaction with the United States' push for war. "The patent superficiality and duplicity, I can't stand it," he said of the Bush administration.

Fellman said the struggle between war hawks and protesters as "a struggle between two world views. The people behind this war are subscribers to a Hobbsian world view and the protesters have a caring world view."

Professor Michael Gilmore, chair of the English Department, said he was protesting because "Bush has not established the link (between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda). Pre-emptive war is un-American."

At noon, the drum beating and chanting stopped for an hour of speeches by various faculty and students. Jocelyn Berger '03, a leading organizer of the anti-war movement, stated, "War is a dark, dark time of destruction and sorrow. Peace is the light, and we are the bearers of that light."

Professor Robert Lange (PHYS) spoke next, recalling past American foreign policy decisions. "We don't have a good record as liberators," he said.

Lange also said he had problems with the current administration in general, saying, "Our country is in deep trouble. We have suffered a coup-de-tat. September 11 delivered us into the hands of the Bush administration."

After Lange, Union President Ben Brandzel '03 spoke, describing himself as "a very concerned citizen."

"It's great where we have a society where we can have differing views but still be friends at the end of the day," Brandzel said. "That's real patriotism, and let it not be said that we are not patriots."

Defending the protest, Brandzel said, "When our troops, their troops, our civilians, their civilians are endangered it counts more than ever."

Fellman then spoke, and he accused the Bush administration of being Machiavellian and said the war should be called "Operation Double Speak."

Fellman spoke about the Feb. 15 protests that took place in New York against the then impending war. "On that day," Fellman said, "The New York Times said there are two world powers: the United States and the world opinion."

"Let's keep protesting," he said. "The global peace movement will grow."

After Fellman, Prof. Dessima Williams (SOC) said, "One of the simplest reasons to oppose war is that war hurts people." She spoke about the United States' invasion of her home country, Grenada, in 1983.

Professor David Cunningham (SOC) was the third speaker from his department. "College students have the moral obligation to protest," he said.

For the entire duration of the rally, representatives and supporters of UWS stood behind the crowd in a counter-protest. While most members of that group said they favored the existence of dissent against this highly controversial war, some said they felt that some of the protesters' sentiments were misdirected and unpatriotic. "I think the protest is missing being pro-America and it is just anti-Bush. What kind of American goes against American foreign policy?" asked UWS member and ZaHaV President Mitchel Balsam '05.

Wiznitzer, however, said, "Dissenting can be patriotic, but rooting against your own troops is offensive."

At 1:00 p.m., the protest concluded and while most of the crowd resumed their normal activities, approximately 120 stayed and walked down to the Brandeis-Roberts commuter rail station to board a train to Boston to join other anti-war protesters from the area. Once in Boston, thousands of protesters marched in Government Center and Copley Square.

"I think it's tremendous so many were here," Berger said. "It's exciting to be at the vanguard of the peace movement."

Barshay said her group's work is not over. "I don't know how large-scale our plans will be in comparison to the walkout, but there is still a lot of work to do," she said.

As the war heated up over the weekend, protests took place around the world. On Saturday, approximately 100,000 people marched through the streets of New York, according to CNN. Hundreds protested in front of the White House in Washington and almost 300,000 protesters in London marched past Prime Minster Blair's official residence at 10 Downing Street.