Jackie Hai

By Jackie Hai Collegian Staff

Student members of the Campus Anti-War Network (C.A.N.) organized a speak-out against the Iraq war on the Student Union steps yesterday at noon.

The event lasted about an hour and drew in a crowd of approximately 50-100 spectators, with speakers invited to express their opinions at the open microphone.

Topics touched upon included stories of friends in the military traumatized by service in Iraq, criticism of Congress’ lack of progress in bringing an end to the war and calls to action for mobilizing a stronger anti-war movement.

“We should look for some other force to bring change other than the Republicans and the Democrats,” said speaker Ross Hogan. “That’s why we need to build an anti-war movement in this country connected with GIs that are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan that want to resist the occupation, and connected with students, workers and others here in the United States that also want to stop it. That’s what happened in the Vietnam War; that’s what can happen now.”

A majority of Americans are against the war in Iraq, said Dan Keefe, one of the event’s organizers. He added that the next step is to translate the anti-war sentiment of the majority into action.

Yesterday’s speak-out was the first public event of the semester for the Campus Anti-War Network, a nationwide organization with a newly established branch at the University of Massachusetts. It was part of a national week of action, with other events taking place on college campuses across the country.

“We want to send delegates to C.A.N.’s national conference on the weekend of October 19,” said Charles Peterson, who has been an activist in the organization for the past three years. “We’re trying to do a New England-wide mobilization in Boston, on October 27. We want to bring busloads of people to that.”

The Campus Anti-War Network is also screening the film “Iraq for Sale: the War Profiteers” today at 5:30 p.m. in room 168 of the Campus Center. Regular meetings are held this semester on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in the Blue Wall.

“It’s about empowering people to get involved and to be active participants,” says Keefe. “I’d like to see a large anti-war movement at UMass that has ties to the community and the faculty.”

Jackie Hai can be reached at [email protected].