Calling for the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to counter military recruitment on campus, a number of Uni­versity of North Texas students rallied in front of the student union Monday.

Members of the United Aid group, led by Jason Waite, a 29-year-old graduate student, organized about 30 students who made their voice heard at one of the school’s free-speech zones.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Travis Williams, a University of North Texas senior, has red paint on his hands as a symbol of the number of soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of students gathered Monday near the student union building to protest the ongoing wars.

“We want to emphasize that we support our troops, and we are doing a counter-recruitment. We do not want to be in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.

The event, which was originally planned as a student walkout followed by a peace rally, began at 9:11 a.m. in remembrance of the those killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“This is not just about us [the organizers], it is about all of us,” Andrew Teeter said in one of the speeches, calling for passersby to stop and listen to the group’s reasons for holding the rally.

“We don’t support the occupation in our name,” he said. “This is going on in our name, with our tax dollars,” he said.

Teeter, who had not been active in peace rallies before, said his reason for participating was simple — to change public opinion.

Rally participant Curtis Ben-Edwards said, “I feel the American public is being used and the military is being used for people’s financial benefits. It is presented as being in a crisis when there is not one.”

Ben-Edwards, a psychology major from Dallas, joined crowd members as they painted their hands red as a symbol of the number of soldiers who lost their lives for what rally organizers call unnecessary wars.

Signs reading, “I love our troops and I want peace,” and “Protestors are patriots, this is the real free speech,” stopped many who watched as Teeter volunteered to act out waterboarding.

Many in the crowd laughed as Teeter allowed his fellow organizers to gag him and place a U.S. flag in front of his face while throwing water on his face.

“You may laugh, but this is what happens to people,” Waite said. “It goes on as much as 45 minutes.”

Sandy Delillo, a third-year graduate student, stopped by a couple of minutes to watch.

“I personally do not support this [protest],” she said. 

Delillo, whose brother re­turned in February from his first mission to Iraq and whose mother was a 9/11 survivor, said she felt insulted, especially because the organizers had started the event at 9:11 a.m.

Linda Sagaribay also stopped to listen and then signed the counter-recruitment contact list, in which students pledge to tell each other if recruiters are on campus, and then engage in a nonviolent protest.

“I was born in 1961; my father served eight years in Vietnam. It is very personal to me,” Sagaribay said.

“It is OK to do this, it does not mean disrespect for our troops,” she continued. “Peace is always an option; everyone that tells you war is the only option is telling you a lie,” she said. 

Sagaribay, whose nephew serves in Iraq, said she believed Iraq is another Vietnam. 

Jose Reyes, an art student from El Salvador, said he felt honored to stand and protest.

“People are being hurt by the decisions of our lawmakers,” he said.

Throughout the morning, students with mixed reactions walked by and engaged in candid conversations about the Iraq war.

John Belew, a senior with the department of radio, television and film, was one of these students.

“Although I did not agree with the way the war is run, we should be there,” he said.

Belew said he believed that although weapons of mass destruction were not found in Iraq, Saddam Hussein did help terrorists in the past and the U.S. needed to stop him.

“No one wanted to do anything about it,” he said. “If it was only about oil, why didn’t we take oil the first time [and] …why don’t we do it now?”

When the Rev. Peter Johnson, a peace activist who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., addressed the crowd, conversations became a bit more confrontational with spectators asking one question after another, most not allowing Jackson to speak.

“Killing people is wrong, no matter what the reason is,” Johnson, 63, said, asking students to apply King’s teachings after one had called the U.S. invasion of Iraq a matter of self-defense.

Other organizations supporting the event included the Anti-Empire League, Students for a Democratic Society and Peace Action Denton.

Students who took part in the rally pledged to meet the first Monday of every month to continue the protest and hopefully inspire others to join them.

KARINA RAMÍREZ can be reached at 940-566-6878. Her  e-mail address is kramirez@dentonrc.com .