The New Hampshire

Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Alice Traversy/Courtesy Photo UNH students participated in a peace rally held in Boston Commons last weekend.

Despite dark clouds threatening rain over Boston Common, the park was overflowing with people this past Saturday. A crowd of activists was gathered in conjunction with 11 major cities and numerous other locations across the nation to raise their voices against the war in Iraq. Some held up poster boards with the word "Enough" printed in bold letters, while others just held up their hands in the form of peace signs.

Amongst the cheering faces, UNH students stood with a determination to share in the message of the rally. Many had traveled by train to represent the UNH division of The Peace and Justice League, while other politically active students carpooled together to be a part of the event.

Vanessa Bennett, a sophomore history major from Epping, had been anticipating the event since she first heard of it.

"I've been going to rallies since I was 15," Bennett said. "I had a few friends in high school with a car, and one day four of us hopped in the car and went to one. I got hooked on it."

Once they arrived at Boston Common, she and her friends wove their way through the crowd to stand as close to the stage as possible. They were surrounded by people of all ages, ranging from families holding hands to solemn Vietnam veterans.

This New England branch of the event was the culmination of months of planning and preparation put on by United for Justice with Peace, which is made up by a network of over 50 community groups devoted to promoting peace in the Massachusetts area.

United for Justice with Peace is affiliated with a grassroots organization with an almost identical sounding name, known as United for Peace and Justice. This group, holding the same vision of ending the war and promoting peace, is the national coalition responsible for setting up the entire 11-city event. United for Peace and Justice consists of over 1300 groups dedicated to putting on rallies like the one in Boston.

Susan Leese, a member of United for Justice with Peace, was thrilled with the amount of students who turned up as part of the event.

"At our second organizational meeting about half of the people were youth," Leese said. "We want to reach out to everybody."

Continued...

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