Tuesday, January 21,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 81
Peace across the nation
Rallies across the nation this
weekend drew hundreds of
thousands calling fora peaceful
resolution to the Iraq conflict
Staff Writers
Oregon Daily Emerald
From coast to coast, a wide cross
section of Americans took a message
of peace to the streets during the
weekend, protesting both a potential
war with Iraq and the Bush adminis
tration itself.
People from nearly every demograph
ic group imaginable — teacheis and stu
dents, grandparents and children, hip
pies and business
people, anarchists
and libertarians,
suburban moms
and urban 20
somethings — held
peaceful demon
strations from Port
land, Ore., to
Washington, D.G., and the size and
mood of the crowds were reminiscent of
Vietnam War protests more than 30
years ago.
San Francisco
Bearing signs and beating drums, tens
of thousands of protesters converged in
downtown San Francisco Saturday to
decry possible war efforts against Iraq.
The protest, which was organized by
the anti-war organization International
A.N.S.W.E.R., was largely peaceful,
with a small breakaway demonstration
rode to and
from the San
Francisco rally,
PACE 3
Photos by Danielle Hickey Emerald
Protesters marched down Market Street
and ended their march in the Civic Center
in San Francisco on Saturday. When they
reached their destination, they listened to
speakers such as Walter Johnson, who is
part of the San Francisco Labor Council.
disrupting traffic and vandalizing prop
erty late in the march.
San Francisco police officials esti
mated 55,000 people attended the
Turn to Rallies, page 7
Students for Peace
protest at D.C. rally
Reporter’s notebook
Braving freezing temperatures,
University students joined an
estimated 500,000 protesters
at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Meghann Farnsworth
Columnist
At 10 a.m. Saturday, people were al
ready filling the Blue Line Metro in Wash
ington, D.C. The train was more full than
normal for a cold Saturday morning, and
the people themselves seemed somewhat
different than the typical Saturday shop
pers or travelers. Dressed warmly in lay
ered clothing with hats, gloves and thick
jackets, most of the people on the Metro
carried variously sized cardboard signs
reading “No Blood for Oil,” “What would
MLK Do?” and “Bushit.”
While it was hot on the Metro, the tem
perature outside was a chilly 24 degrees
that reached to the bone. Some skeptics
claimed that no one would show up be
cause of the freezing weather, but by the
time the rally got under way, it was obvi
ous that the thousands who had arrived
— and the thousands more still arriving
— were not going to be silenced simply
because of some winter weather.
On Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth
day weekend, the organizers of the rally,
International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to
Stop War and End Racism), estimated
that 500,(XX) people gathered in front of
the Capitol to protest the encroaching
war with Iraq, and with them were 10
University students from Students for
Turn to D.C. rally, page 3
Protester Micheal Hamilton stood silently on the steps of San
Francisco's City Hall on Saturday dressed as a soldier holding an
American flag in opposition to the war.
Protesters worldwide denounce Iraq war
Sebastian Rotella
Los Angeles Times
PARIS — Antiwar demonstrators turned out
across the globe Saturday to protest a U.S. mil
itary buildup in the Middle East widely seen as
a prelude to an invasion of Iraq.
Thousands marched in Europe, the Middle
East and Asia to denounce the prospect of war.
They heaped abuse on the Bush administra
tion, voicing the anti-American sentiment that
has been ignited by the Iraq issue.
A German protester wore a sign branding
President George W. Bush a terrorist, a refrain
repeated throughout the day and around the
Moscow declared: Senate host a forum
“Iraq isn’t your about the impact
rnnnh \/f TJi __a. _ I .
tion to come if the
confrontation with the regime of Iraqi Presi
dent Saddam Hussein escalates.
The crowds had a cheerful air in countries
such as Japan, where about 4,000 marchers in
The demonstra
tions could be just
a taste of street ac
Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district included stu
dents who wore Bush masks and playfully
pulled the triggers of toy guns. The mood in
the Middle East, however, was darker. In Dam
ascus, Syria, there were shouts of “Our
beloved Saddam, strike Tel Aviv!”
A crowd of marchers in Cairo, Egypt, estimat
ed at between several hundred and 1,000 gath
ered in the square outside Sayeda Zeinab
Mosque in a working-class area not far from the
city’s historical center. A massive deployment of
black-clad riot police surrounded the protest,
and a few students complained that police had
Turn to World, page 3
Parade,
speech
honor
MLK
MLX Day started with a parade and
ended with a ceremony honoring
community service leaders
Roman Gokhman and Ayisha Yahya
Emerald staff writers
They came in droves—groups of three
and six and 15, or alone. They were of dif
ferent ethnicities and from every creed,
and they congregated in a one-square
block patch of grass in West Eugene —
MLK Park, currently the only landmark
in Lane County named after the famed
civil rights leader.
Nearly 200 community members in
cluding Lane County Commissioner Pete
Sorenson, City Councilor David Kelly and
Mayor Jim Torrey gathered at the park and
marched to the Police and Fire Training
Center on West 2nd Avenue to pay tribute
Turn to MLK, page 4
Students
celebrate
choice
The 30th anniversary of Roe v.
Wade will be celebrated today,
starting at the EMU Fishbowl
Ayisha Yahya
Freelance Editor
Students for Choice will commemorate
the 30th anniversary for Roe v. Wade with
“Cake and Condoms” today at 11:30 a.m.
in the EMU Fishbowl. The 1973 court de
cision gave women a federal right to volun
tarily terminate pregnancies.
According to Students for Choice Di
rector Lauren Manes, the cake is meant to
celebrate women’s right to choose. She
said it’s important for young women to
recognize the significance of Roe v. Wade.
“At this point in time, a lot of people
are taking it for granted, especially our
Turn to Roe v. Wade, page 4
Weather
Today: High 47,Low 40,
chance of showers,
Wednesday: High 48, Low 40,
occasional rain likely
Looking ahead
Wednesday
Catch up on the EMU Board
and PFC budget hearings
Thursday
Will Honda's new robot be
able to take over the world?