By Lindsay Niegelberg
WASHINGTON D.C. – Tens of thousands of protesters braved the 18 degree weather in Washington D.C. on Jan. 18 to tell President Bush that they do not support war in Iraq.
“Injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere,” read one protester’s sign, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the weekend honoring his life.
Protesters rallied and marched from the west side of the capitol building to the navy shipyard nearly three miles away. Among those people were about 30 Northeastern students who endured a three-hour wait in below freezing temperatures only to ride a bus for nine hours. They were a small part of the wide array of people waiting to join voices in hopes of stopping the looming war overseas. The NU students were organized by Northeastern University Campus Against War and Racism (NUCAWR), and joined the international organization Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) on the way to the nation’s capitol.
“Over the past ten to eleven years we’ve caused enough destruction that it’s not necessary to kill anymore,” said sophomore political science major Elliott McGann.
“I feel things are getting out of control fast,” said senior Alison Conforti. “I’m adamantly against [the war] so I feel the least I can do is say that.”
Conforti expressed her views with the other protesters by joining in chants like “Exxon, Mobil, BP, Shell, take your war and go to hell!” and “Hey hey, ho ho, this racist war has got to go!” Other protesters held up signs that read “Congress! Send your own kids,” “Not in our name,” “War: a Bush family value,” and “No more blood for oil.”
The crowd ranged in ages and demographics from elementary school children wearing shirts that read “collateral damage” to college students, parents, gay rights groups, and veterans.
While buses kept rolling in from across the country, speakers began to capture the crowd’s attention. Rev. Jesse Jackson, former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, actress Jessica Lange, former United States attorney general Ramsey Clark, and Rev. Al Sharpton were among the speakers.
“Are we talking about weapons of mass destruction or are we talking about a political game of mass distraction?” Sharpton asked the crowd.
The loudest cries came from the crowd after 75-year-old Clark said that Americans had grounds to impeach Bush and incited chants of “Let’s impeach him!”
“I think this shows that people are taking notice,” said junior Jeff Matte. “Most of the country does not support the war.”
While so many people from across the nation showed up at the protest, the Northeastern students have their own opinions as to why this issue hasn’t evoked the emotion that had colleges in an uproar in past decades.
“People are very comfortable so it’s hard for them to look outside and see that something’s wrong,” said Conforti.
The next known protest of this magnitude is planned for February 15 in New York City.
