Some to head for Pentagon to protest
Brittney Berget - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Metro
While for some UI students, spring break will consist of naps and Coronas, for others it will revolve around the Pentagon - where those students will march to demonstrate their disapproval of the war in Iraq.
On March 17, approximately 114 people plan to travel from Iowa to Virginia as part of the March for Peace protest to mark the fourth anniversary of the war. Students from Cornell College, Drake, Iowa State University, Grinnell College, Central College, and Simpson College, along with UI students, plan to take two buses to the protest, which is being run by Answer Coalition.
"Unless we all get out there as a group and say, 'We are not supporting this, and our voice is important,' things might not change," said Tim Gauger, a member of the UI Antiwar Committee and UI Libraries assistant. "This isn't a question of Republican and Democrat - it's so much bigger than that."
A March 7 USA Today/Gallup poll showed that President Bush's approval rating has sunk to 33 percent, and a large number of UI students are in line with the rest of the country. The UI Antiwar Committee has recently grown from around 10 students to as many as 30, Gauger said, adding that the upcoming protest is the second march UI students will attend in the past two months. The first was Jan. 26-28, which was organized by United for Peace and Justice.
Gauger said there isn't a lot of overlap among those attending the two rallies - something he finds encouraging, because it shows more people are becoming interested. There will be as many as 45 UI students at the Virginia march.
UI freshman Jacob Ridler, who attended the protest in January, said it's necessary for people to express their disapproval of the Bush administration.
"It's important to let people know you can do something other than gripe about the situation," he said. "It's really amazing to see everyone come together for one cause."
In the previous demonstration, he said, around 300,000 people marched, and those involved came from various faiths, environmental groups, and student organizations.
On March 17, approximately 114 people plan to travel from Iowa to Virginia as part of the March for Peace protest to mark the fourth anniversary of the war. Students from Cornell College, Drake, Iowa State University, Grinnell College, Central College, and Simpson College, along with UI students, plan to take two buses to the protest, which is being run by Answer Coalition.
"Unless we all get out there as a group and say, 'We are not supporting this, and our voice is important,' things might not change," said Tim Gauger, a member of the UI Antiwar Committee and UI Libraries assistant. "This isn't a question of Republican and Democrat - it's so much bigger than that."
A March 7 USA Today/Gallup poll showed that President Bush's approval rating has sunk to 33 percent, and a large number of UI students are in line with the rest of the country. The UI Antiwar Committee has recently grown from around 10 students to as many as 30, Gauger said, adding that the upcoming protest is the second march UI students will attend in the past two months. The first was Jan. 26-28, which was organized by United for Peace and Justice.
Gauger said there isn't a lot of overlap among those attending the two rallies - something he finds encouraging, because it shows more people are becoming interested. There will be as many as 45 UI students at the Virginia march.
UI freshman Jacob Ridler, who attended the protest in January, said it's necessary for people to express their disapproval of the Bush administration.
"It's important to let people know you can do something other than gripe about the situation," he said. "It's really amazing to see everyone come together for one cause."
In the previous demonstration, he said, around 300,000 people marched, and those involved came from various faiths, environmental groups, and student organizations.
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