Students hold peace protest
April 23, 2007 by Kristen Coulter
Filed under News
To promote international peace, more than 150 protesters disrupted the calm on campus.
Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s March for Peace and Social Justice, demonstrators gathered in the Tate Plaza Friday morning holding signs and speaking to passersby in opposition to the war in Iraq.
They marched through campus during the 12:05 class change, attracting attention with a sizeable chanting crowd on their way to the Arch.
The march continued to the Athens courthouse, chanting phrases such as “Bring them home” and “Peace, Peace, Not War!”
Once they returned to the Arch, the demonstrators held a rally where they spoke about what they believe are the negative aspects of the Iraq war.
Raymond Wiley, a senior from Canton, is the co-president of the Pagan Students Association and one of the organizers of the event.
To attract a large crowd, he said organizers wanted to get in touch with groups who would be “up” with the idea of the march.
Among the groups participating in the march were the Pagan Students Association, the Campus Greens, The World Can’t Wait, Athens Women in Black, Universalist Unitarian Fellowship of Athens and the Black Affairs Council.
“We all had the same basic goals,” Wiley said. “This is about pulling out.”
Some of the students who participated in the march were not affiliated with the groups.
Brian Moorman, a junior from Atlanta, called himself a “free radical” for joining the march as an independent protester.
“I’m not doing anything else with my time,” Moorman said. “I might as well speak out against something I don’t agree with.”
Moorman also said he felt a special connection to the march, since it was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.
“I’m also doing this in the spirit of my ancestors,”he said.
Rachel Newsome, a sophomore from Marietta, also joined the demonstration without having ties to one of the sponsoring groups.
She said she wanted to increase students’ knowledge about the war in Iraq.
“I believe anything we can do to raise awareness is valuable,” Newsome said. “I don’t think a lot of people know what is going on in Iraq and they should.”
Many of the participants in the march were not students.
Marchers included University alumni and Athens residents.
Carmen Champagne, a 2005 graduate, brought her 7-year-old daughter, Olivia, to participate in the march.
“You don’t show your children horrible pictures, but she’s aware that there’s a war going on,” Champagne said. “I want her to be a part of what’s going on in the world.”
In addition to the march’s inspiration from the legacy of King, several of the speakers in the rally at the Arch reminded protesters to keep the importance of history in mind.
Dan Prior, 81, joined the march when he saw the protesters walking through Athens.
He said he was an Army Infantry foot soldier in World War II and is opposed to war because of his experience.
As the protesters gathered at the Arch, Prior spoke to the group about his experiences in war and his opposition to President Bush’s position on the war.
“People who served in the army are very reluctant to go to war,” Prior said.
Throughout the demonstration, one man stood in support of the war in Iraq.
Chuck Jones, a 2005 University Law School graduate, said he does not agree with the notion of supporting the troops by bringing them home.
“That is like saying you support the people who work at Starbucks by firing them,” Jones, 27, said.
Jones said he staged a pro-war demonstration once, and while outside, a Marine thanked him.
The Marine’s appreciation inspired Jones to support the troops at the Arch in opposition to the Athens Women in Black’s anti-war protest each week.
Although he is not affiliated with a political group on campus, Jones said the College Republicans demonstrated with him several weeks ago.
