The University of Denver Young Democrats hosted an Iraq war protest on Driscoll Green last week in order to honor fallen soldiers and make an impact on the DU community.
The event lasted from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. on Wednesday. Students signed a large display reading, “Stop the Surge,” which will eventually be sent to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who represents Colorado.
A flag was planted on Driscoll Green to honor every fallen soldier. Students took turns in 15-minute increments throughout the day to read the names, ages and ranks of fallen troops. Approximately 15 student readers attended and more than 75 people signed the
banner to be sent to Congress. Professors and other members of the community also attended.
Jeffrey Graves, president of DU Young Democrats and co-founder of the Student Peace Alliance, stated that far too often people hear about U.S. soldiers or Iraqis being killed, but they do not take the time to think about the implications of the war that started four years ago.
“Those numbers are our peers, our friends, our brothers and sisters. The cost of war is a large one, and we wanted the DU community to look themselves in the mirror and ask: is this war really worth it?” Graves said.
Throughout the day, students observed the protest on Driscoll Green on their way to and from their classes. Various students supported the event, but some students also ignored it.
“We were called everything from ‘quixotic zealots’ to ‘patriots.’ However, what we cared about was that there was an impact,” Graves said.
Graves mentioned that he wanted people to start conversations, start thinking and start caring about the cost of war.
A man who served in Iraq for over a year stopped by to observe the protest. Graves said the man approached him to ask him if he could write the name of a fallen friend on one of the flags. The gentlemen stayed and listened to the student readers for the next hour and a half just to hear his friend’s name read, Graves said.
“I had trouble holding myself together when I saw his friend’s name in the field of flags knowing that each flag represented a friend to someone,” Graves said.
Graves wishes to thank the Driscoll Building staff, Steve Fisher and TJ Bowen for their help.
The DU Young Democrats also endorsed the Student Peace Alliance lecture the following day.
For more information about the DU Young Democrats, visit http://www.du.edu/orgs/youngdems. To attend one of the Young Democrats’ meetings, contact tsydney@du.edu.
