Thirteen-year-old Arthur Niven often spends his weekends engaged in elaborate historical role-playing games on the computer, but last Sunday he decided to forgo the virtual for the reality of participating in the peace march in San Francisco.

It was the Point Arena teenager's first foray into a modern political demonstration, an adventure mixed with the real thrill that his actions "might affect other things in the near future.

"I definitely had the sense that this was a historical event," he said.

Youths like Niven are becoming increasingly involved in the peace movement against the potential war with Iraq, according to student organizers and activists who have watched their ranks grow exponentially at demonstrations.

They are also mounting their own anti-war movement on campuses by passing out leaflets, having rallies and staging events.

Today, many students are planning to leave classes after about 11 a.m. and picket the military recruiting office behind the Stonestown mall in San Francisco during lunch hour. Another contingent is planning to do the same at the campus Military Affairs office near UC Berkeley.

Both events are part of the nationally coordinated "days of non-compliance" organized by the student and youth contingent of International ANSWER, one of several organizations that sponsored last weekend's march. More class walkouts and demonstrations are being planned on March 5.

Tahnee Nye, an organizer with ANSWER (the acronym stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) in San Francisco said local chapters of the anti-war group, which is based in Washington, D.C., had been speaking at teach-ins at area schools every day for the last several weeks.

AiMara Lin, a student and youth organizer for the anti-war group Not In Our Name, said the group had been inundated with requests to make presentations.

While statistics on the percentage of teens involved in the peace movement were not readily available, student organizers say recent increases appear to be dramatic.

"Just compared with the last couple rallies, I can tell the number is growing because I'd say I saw twice as many (teenagers) this last time," said Jesse Cottrell, who sits on the San Francisco Youth Commission.

"A lot of them had rally banners that weren't your typical flower-power kind of thing; more were graffiti-oriented, which is appealing to a lot of youth," he said.

Besides presenting anti-war slogans, Cottrell, said, the signs also delivered the message that "this is not your parents' peace movement."

Berkeley High School senior Lauren Wingate said that she believed the gravity of a potential war resonated deeply for her and her peers.

"My generation will be most affected by (the war), especially if they implement the draft again -- a lot of my peers will be affected," said Wingate,

who is 18 and leads a campus group called Youth Together. "Anything I can say to hopefully stop that from happening I definitely need to say."

And there's a group dynamic involved too, she said.

"I definitely see a trend to be more conscious of what's going on (politically)," Wingate said. "It's cool to want to be revolutionary, to be a rebel."

Colin Wade, a 17-year-old junior at Galileo High School, said there was a socially appealing aspect to the anti-war events.

"It's just a great place to go, there's lots of positive energy, and it's a really cool place to meet people and hang out have a good time," he said. "It's a big social thing."

Even elementary school-age children are getting into the action.

Carey Davis, the director of the Presidio Hill School, said about 40 students marched in each of the last two demonstrations.

"In many cases it's the kids leading the parents, saying 'I need a ride, I need to go to the march,' " she mused. "All these parents who thought their marching days are over are getting pulled back in."

Chronicle staff writers Nanette Asimov and Ray Delgado contributed to this story.

©2003 San Francisco Chronicle

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