CHICAGO?Signs bearing slogans such as ?Stop the War! No more Killing!!,? ?Down with U.S. Imperialism? and ?No racist attacks, defend civil liberties? adorned Chicago?s Federal Plaza this week.
Approximately 800 people, including 15 to 20 DePaul students, protested against the United States’ commencement of attacks on Afghanistan at the Federal Plaza, at Dearborn and Adams, Tuesday.
?I don?t support the war in any way,? said Kristin Robinson, sophomore, undeclared major. ?I don?t think the people of Afghanistan are to blame for what happened in New York City.?
The rally, organized by the Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, officially began with a moment of silence to commemorate those lost in the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. However, the protestors uniformly highlighted that ?the war did not begin on Sept. 11.?
Students seemed to play a critical role in this protest. Midway through, after speeches from members of the American Friends Committee, the Eighth Day Center for Justice and United Muslims Moving Ahead, students were introduced from Harold Washington Community College, University of Illinois at Chicago and DePaul University.
Each student rose to the makeshift stage and voiced his or her opposition to the war and encouragement for peace. When John Plamondon, senior, political science at DePaul, was announced, a group of cheers arose from DePaul students attending the rally.
The main message from Plamondon and his fellow DePaul classmates: education.
?Educate yourselves, ask questions,? said Christin Denning, sophomore, women’s studies. ?This directly affects us too, not just the rest of the world.?
?Look at other media sources,? suggested Michael Ludden, junior, undeclared major. ?The media can only go on what the government gives them.?
And what the government has given the media at this point is not much, according to many protestors.
?Every fact that people learn about the policies of this government, the more convinced they will become that almost everything it says are lies and almost everything it does is evil,? said Ken Burak, graduate student of philosophy at DePaul.
?I don?t believe in an eye for an eye ideology,? said Plamondon. ?I do believe in bringing those who did this to justice. We must use diplomacy instead of a military response.?