Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Media Credit: PHOTOS BY EUGENE GAVRILOV–THE DIAMONDBACK Students and faculty filled the Memorial Chapel last night to hear antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan speak about the war in Iraq. [Click to enlarge]

Cindy Sheehan inspired students to engage in heated debate over the Iraq war. While antiwar protesters far outnumbered supporters, the College Republicans remained vocal in their support of the war. [Click to enlarge]

Correction: Due to a reporter's error, the print edition of this story incorrectly stated which office Kevin Zeese is running for. He is running for U.S. Senate. A correct version of the story is posted here.

As students stood divided on the steps of Memorial Chapel last night, they held strong to their political views while awaiting antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan's arrival.

More than an hour before a talk on the Iraq war with Sheehan, dozens of students lined the chapel entrance in a face-off. They held signs, passed out pamphlets - including military recruitment forms - and chanted their beliefs for everyone to hear while occasionally debating back and forth.

The shouts intensified as Sheehan walked up the steps and waved to her supporters holding signs that read, "We salute you Cindy," while others read, "You are a disgrace to America and our troops."

"Anyone who says there's apathy at the University of Maryland is not here tonight," said Shibley Telhami, chair of the Anwar Sadat Lecture series, at the opening of last night's dialogue on the cost of the Iraq war.

Students nearly filled the chapel, which seats about 1,000 people, to listen to what sponsors called a dialogue between the audience and three speakers - Sheehan, Telhami and Kevin Zeese, an anti-war activist and state senator candidate.

Outside, student opinions were clear. But when the talk began, regardless of their opinions, they packed up their signs and respectfully joined the audience.

Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier, camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch in August before starting a tour across the U.S. to lobby against the Bush Administration for the troops' return. She has met once with Bush but was not granted another conversation since beginning her protest campaign.

Sheehan, dressed casually last night in a light blue sweatshirt and knee-length capris, finished her tour this weekend as hundreds of thousands of people flooded Washington in the largest antiwar rally since the war's onset.

Protesters of the rally said Sheehan has become deified by the media and is exploiting her son's death to push her own political agenda.

"They try to hold her up to a light like she's a divine figure," said Michael Combs, a senior electrical engineering major. "How she's done it is disrespectful to son's memory and troops over there."

"I'm not supporting terrorists," said Jason George, a freshman math major and member of the College Democrats. "I'm supporting our troops, and I think they need better leadership from our president. That's what Cindy is doing, telling the president he needs a plan."

Sheehan traveled to other college campuses in her tour, including Johns Hopkins University last week, where she harshly criticized Bush and aggressively rallied for students to join her in last weekend's demonstration.

Last night, she spent majority of her time sharing her story about her fallen son Casey, who was an eagle scout growing up and loved theatre.

He didn't believe in the war, she said, but went to fulfill his duty. "He said, 'The sooner I leave, the sooner I'll come back.' He only left home for two weeks before we got his body home in a flag-draped coffin," Sheehan said.

After sharing her personal story, she pushed for the recall of the troops in Iraq.

"President Bush says we're safer fighting them there than over here," Sheehan said. "Why are we safer because 120,000 civilians are dead? What makes their babies less precious than ours?"

Kevin Zeese, an antiwar activist and U.S. Senate candidate, also spoke at last night's event about the government's failure to justly represent the majority of Americans.

He said this is "the most corrupt war in our history" and called for the impeachment of Bush.

Many students said they felt Zeese and Sheehan's viewpoints were sometimes extreme and didn't support all their recommendations.

"I disagree when people say the country doesn't agree with the war when a majority voted for President Bush," said Joseph Kramer, a sophomore letters and sciences major. "Saying representatives don't represent us, but it's people we elected through a free democracy."

Sheehan said she plans on creating "Camp Casey, D.C.," a permanent vigil near the White House and a new campaign called "Meet with America" or "Not One More," she said.

In a press conference, Sheehan said college students will be paying for the war's debt and should take an active role in its discussion.

"Sheehan inspired more debate," said Belen Cadena, a member of the Peace Forum and the International Socialists Organization. "I don't think there is enough conversation about it, we should talk more about the issues. [I hope people] start thinking about how it affects their home, families. There's talk on the table and she was able to spark it."

Contact reporters Laurie Au and Ben Block at blockdbk@gmail.com.

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