The Daily Tar Heel

Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: DTH/Selket Guzman Students and community members gather at the intersection of Franklin and Columbia streets to protest the Iraq War on its fourth anniversary. Police officers directed traffic during the march.

Media Credit: DTH/Ankit Gupta Senior Sara Joseph rallies students in the Pit after the hundreds of protestors marched to and from Franklin Street on Tuesday afternoon.

Hundreds of protesters walked out of class Tuesday and marched through campus and the streets of downtown Chapel Hill to demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Activists rallied in the Pit and then walked a loop around North Campus, blocking, among others, the intersection at Franklin and Columbia streets for several minutes. As they marched, they chanted slogans such as "Whose streets? Our streets!"

The protest was part of the March 20 Student Day of Action Against the War, timed for the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led coalition forces. More than 80 campuses and high schools nationwide scheduled walkouts, including N.C. State University, UNC-Asheville and Raleigh's Enloe High School.

"I walked out today to show this campus and this town, and, along with the other 80 campuses that walked out today, to show this country that the youth will not be silent, and we won't stand aside as people are murdered," UNC freshman Molly Rose Sweetser said. "And we're going to end this war."

At noon, the anti-war demonstrators gathered in the Pit, where a brief rally was held. Hundreds of observers listened to speeches and watched as the protesters carried signs, chanted and banged drums.

The walkout included representatives and members from multiple campus organizations, including the UNC chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, Black Student Movement and Student Action with Workers. Groups from Raleigh and Greensboro also were represented.

Sophomore Chris Williams was standing near the Pit as the rally kicked off.

"I think their message is slightly misguided. (The protesters) are for democracy, but pulling out of Iraq will result in civil war," he said.

He also said that Iraq is slowly being rebuilt and that Iraqis are grateful Saddam Hussein was removed.

At about 12:20 p.m., the protesters began to march through Polk Place toward Franklin Street. Dozens of students were on the grass in the quad and stopped to watch the procession. Some joined as the marchers passed.

On Franklin Street, several people stood on the sidewalks and watched as the demonstrators blocked the intersections and danced on the pavement.

"It reminds me very much of when I was at Carolina," said Mitch Simpson, class of 1972. Simpson is the pastor at University Baptist Church and came outside when he heard the protesters.

"You have to love the fact that we live in a place where we are free to do this."

Officers from the Department of Public Safety and the Chapel Hill Police Department walked, biked and drove around the protesters to maintain order. As the demonstrators approached intersections, they rode ahead to section off traffic.

Randy Young, DPS spokesman, said the march was "civil and without incident." No arrests were made.

Peter Gilbert, a first-year law student and SDS leader, said that most of the police responded well to the march with the exception of one antagonistic officer who threatened to arrest several organizers.

"Thanks to the organizers staying calm and disciplined, there were no arrests or serious incidents," he said, adding that police officers couldn't have controlled the crowd even if they wanted to because they were vastly outnumbered.

After about an hour of marching, the anti-war demonstrators completed their route and returned to the Pit for a closing rally.

Many participants wore yellow ribbons that were passed out by the College Republicans at the beginning of the walkout.

"They're symbolic of our support for the troops," said Amanda Elise Anderson, a junior and chairwoman for the group's membership and activism committee "Though we may disagree, the commonality lies in our love for America, our support for free speech and our support for the troops in harm's way."

At N.C. State, about 100 students marched from the Bell Tower down Hillsborough Street and held a rally at the Free Expression Tunnel. Of the protesters, 37 came from Enloe High School and Southeast High School.

The anti-war actions came on the heels of a weekend of widespread protests across the country, including a march on the Pentagon in Washington on March 17.

"If we don't find our justice and our democracy in Washington, we will find it in the streets," Gilbert said.

"You can expect more of this."



Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.

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