The following interviews and photos were obtained by Mark Almberg on Sept. 23 in Chicago as antiwar demonstrators waited to load up buses outside the Art Institute.
I don’t believe in what we’re doing over there. The money we’ve spent there could have been spent fixing the levees in New Orleans.
Several of my best friends have been sent to Iraq. One of them considered suicide while he was over there, the situation is so bad. He was sent to Germany to get help.
I hope this march increases people’s awareness. I was asked by an ROTC guy on campus about what good it will do. I told him that if it opens just one set of eyes, if it raises just one’s person’s awareness, it will have been worth it.
— Heiden, 21, is a senior at Western Illinois University from Somonauk, Ill.
I’m going to Washington to protest the war and the Bush administration. We should not be in Iraq. We should be taking care of people here at home first. We have no business being there. I think we’re there to put a strong hold on the oil.
Too many lives have been lost. Our being there is the cause of the problem. It will be tough to pull out but we have to do what’s right for the people of the U.S., too.
I hope some of our elected officials will look out their windows and see my sign.
— Lucious, 24, is a sophomore at Purdue University from Portage, Ind., who was heading for her first demonstration in Washington.
I have several friends in the services and I’ve heard from them off and on. They say they’re miserable, they don’t want to be there, they want to see their family. They say, “I didn’t join for this. I just wanted to get an education.”
— Ortega, 22, is a senior at Purdue from Schererville, Ind.
I’m just against the war. We’re losing troops, were’ losing family and it’s just not right.
— James Jones III, 19, is a sophomore at Purdue from Gary, Ind.
It’s time for the lies to stop. The American people are realizing that we can’t wait any longer to put a stop to this. I’m a veteran, and people who say you can’t be antiwar and still support the troops are wrong. You can oppose the war, and you should, since it’s for an unjust cause.
I spent six months in the Navy, with two deployments in the Gulf. I’ve seen a lot.
I hope this march will have an impact. All the senators and congresspeople should know that the people aren’t going to take the lies any more. Almost every day new allegations of wrongdoing by leading Republicans turn up. If we can stop them in the 2006 elections it will be a big step forward.
— Swanson, 28, is a sophomore at Purdue from Portage, Ind.
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