Sweaty bodies baked in the sun for a "die-in" to protest the Iraq war, only a few feet away from the MSNBC tent being set up on the north side of the Memorial Union.

Protests such as Monday’s “die in” at the Memorial Union will be allowed, but under the watch of security officials. Police said officers are trained and equipped to handle a large amount of protesters and would arrest anyone who becomes violent. (Photo/Sean Gulley)

About 20 students sprawled down on the ground like corpses to show their anger about deaths resulting from the war on Iraq.

Some Bush supporters heckled and yelled at the group as they passed by, while other students stopped to stand in a circle around the group.

Political science senior Josh Anijar said he helped to organize the anti-war event with some friends because he wanted to show the horror of all the people who have died in the war on Iraq.

"We're taking over this space and making a statement about politics," Anijar said. "People have laid down innocently and died."

Anijar said he thinks the war in Iraq is pointless. President George W. Bush deceived American citizens to increase his own power and gain control of the world's oil industry, Anijar said.

"[The Iraq war] was ill planned and there was no reason for it," Anijar said.

Michael Iafrato, vice chairman of the ASU College Republicans, was working in his group's booth only a few feet away while the demonstration was going on.

Iafrato said he respected the protesters' rights to free speech, but he added that it was "ludicrous" to say the war in Iraq was anything more sinister than an attempt to stop terrorism from harming people in the United States and other countries.

"We do feel that the country of Iraq is in a much better position than it was under Saddam Hussein's tyranny," Iafrato said. "Saddam Hussein has at many times helped terror organizations. There is a connection between Iraq and terrorist nations."

Anijar traded a bullhorn with others who lay on the ground with him, attempting to spread their anti-war message to the crowd that had gathered around the "die-in."

"It's like in the '60s where people would sit in a building and they wouldn't budge, only we're lying down," Anijar said.

Brandon Volkenant, a psychology junior who came to watch the event, said he was a liberal-leaning voter and thought the event was an excellent way to involve students.

"A lot of people are too concerned with their iPods and iChat to be concerned with these kinds of things," Volkenant said.

Political science freshman and Young Democrats booth worker Megan Wadding said she thought about participating in the event.

"I was actually going to do it, but I decided it would probably be more productive if I volunteered for the Kerry-Edwards debate party at Town Lake," said Wadding, who called the protest "powerful."

Mike Long, a laboratory coordinator for ASU's School of Life Sciences, said the "die-in" was reminiscent of past protests in the Vietnam War era, though much smaller.

"In the '60s there were hundreds of people," Long said. "This is a form of free speech where you don't have to say anything to make a point."

© Copyright 2001-04, ASU Web Devil

###