Cries for justice, peace and liberty rang out from the steps of the Athens County Courthouse last night as anti-war and pro-war activists transformed a scheduled protest into a forum for political debate.
About 100 protesters for and against the war attracted a crowd on both sides of Court Street when they arrived at about 10 p.m. with megaphones in hand and signs reading "Drop Bush not bombs" and "Give war a chance."
The anti-war side lined the right portion of the courthouse steps, while war supporters lined the left. Speakers for both sides met in the middle to debate their positions. Protest hecklers later shouted obscenities and dissenting statements from across the street.
Sarah Fick, an Ohio University senior, said she decided to attend to the protest in response to pro-war pressure and to show that she was against the war. But she said she was confused as to why it was set for 10 p.m.
Troy Gregorino, Athens resident and anti-war protester, addressed the crowd from the courthouse steps saying, "It's not that we're against war; it's that we're against this particular war."
Gregorino encouraged listeners and reminded them to be optimistic. He also said that the war is relevant to every individual, even if the person only is occupying the next seat down in a bar.
Other anti-war protesters came out to express their belief that the war doesn't have the American people's best interest at heart.
"Bush's reasons for war are not legitimate," said Christina Jaggers, an OU graduate and Hocking College student.
But because of representation from both sides last night, Jaggers said she thought the demonstration could be beneficial. Also, the timing was good, because it was more likely to attract young people and students.
"Dialogue is essential to democracy," she said.
But as anti-war protesters shared their opinions of the war, war supporters did too, draping an American flag across the left side of the courthouse steps and responding quickly to the debate.
Anti-war protesters questioned why war supporters were not overseas fighting, while war supporters responded that the war would be over before they made it through basic training.
OU sophomore Casey Baker said he and a group of friends had seen chalk advertisements about the protest and decided to come out and express how they felt about the war.
But, he remained pessimistic about the effect of the protest on opposing views.
"These were the same arguments that were heard in October and nothing was resolved then," he said.
But despite strong feelings on both sides, the crowd did not get out of hand, said Athens Police Chief Richard Mayer, who had police officers on the evening shift report an hour early in preparation for the protest. The best possible scenario would be that protesters would go peacefully home, he said.
Later in the night, protesters and supporters peacefully dispersed from the courthouse around 11:30 p.m. The protesters continued to march up and down Court Street with drums, flags and signs in hand.
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Erica Bush
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Josh McNary, OU senior, engages Phil Lavelle, OU freshman, in a debate about the war with Iraq yesterday night amid an anti-war rally. The rally was held at the courthouse and was widely attended by both pro- and anti-war protesters.
