War protesters gather on National Women's Day

With "no war" chants and signs encouraging passersby to "honk for peace," more than 425 protesters made evident their antiwar stance Saturday, picketing Palmer Square and then marching to the Princeton battlefield.

The event, organized by the University's Princeton Peace Network and the local community group Coalition for Peace Action, was intentionally held on National Women's Day, coordinators said.

"Women have been peacemakers throughout history and this is a way we can gather and celebrate that leadership and commitment," Karen Mazzola, associate director of the CFPA said.

David Konieczkowski '06, chairman of Princeton Committee against Terrorism, observed the day and said, "If you look at the purpose of International Women's Day, it's to promote equality and justice. Iraq's people have neither."

PCAT, which supports military action against Iraq, routinely criticizes the weekly PPN protests at Palmer Square.

Caroline Wylie, a community member of PPN said, "combining the event with National Women's Day seemed like a good way to get more people out here."

After an hour of picketing, protesters marched to the Princeton battlefield memorial, where a number of women presented their arguments for peace.

Hana Heineken '03, encouraged women to speak out against the war, saying that men with guns and bombs and greed are the ones that destroy hope.

"Women cannot be silent. We are obligated to speak out," she said.

Mazzola stressed that such protests can make a difference.

"There is a new superpower in the world — world public opinion," she said.

Other speakers addressed the audience through original poetry, song, interpretive readings and compositions. Two speakers addressed the audience in Spanish, in hopes of appealing to Princeton's Spanish-speaking community.

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The PPN has organized peace protests every Saturday in Palmer Square for the last few weeks, Wylie said, but the number of participators does not usually exceed 80.

"We are here to generate a local base of support," Wylie said. "Many people are against the war, but they don't know how to voice their opinion. We are giving them an outlet."

The event was attended by a variety of community members.

"We have everyone here, from the children to the pensioners," Wylie said.

Though so close to the University, the number of students present at the event was not sizeable.

"There seem to be dialogues going on on campus, but not very many people are actively protesting," Luna, a Wilson School graduate student said.

In addition to weekly protests in Palmer Square, the PPN has helped organize protest trips to New York City and Washington D.C.

"Seeing that war seems inevitable, right now we are mainly planning a day of events," Wylie said, referring to the PPN's scheduled events in the case that war should break out.

The PPN's plans for the day war begins include a noon protest at the Trenton State House, a 5 p.m. Palmer Square protest and a 2 p.m. student led "funeral."

"The students want everyone to realize that war will cause grieving," Wylie said.