Paul Sayko
Template:TOCnestleft Paul Sayko
Anti Iraq war protest
Circa March 21 2008.U.S. Navy veteran Ryan Barrick is tired of the war in Iraq, and he wants people to know it.
Barrick joined about 100 students at Millersville University Thursday for an anti-Iraq War rally/walkout, where he spoke of his disgust over the conflict.
"It's over; it's done," Barrick, of Carlisle, said. "It has to come to an end. This has been five years of madness."
The protest was organized by Millersville University Students for a Democratic Society and other campus groups to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
Students who participated in the walkout left class about 11 a.m. and walked to the campus quad across from the Student Memorial Center, where students, professors, veterans and others spoke in protest of the war.
Kyle Parsons, an MU sophomore and member of SDS who helped organize the rally, said the protest was not about bashing politicians. "It's apolitical," Parsons said. "We're not here to encourage people to vote for a certain candidate. We're here because we are passionately against the war. We hope this triggers other things."
Members of SDS said they spread word of the rally through about 500 e-mails to students and professors.
English Professor Gwyn McVay told the crowd the day's chilliness had nothing to do with the weather.
"It's a dreary day, and I'm not talking about the weather," McVay said. "We've been in Iraq for far too long."
McVay said she can't stand to hear when one of her former students dies while serving in the war.
"I'm sick and tired of my students being sent to die for reasons they're told are noble," McVay said.
SDS member Paul Sayko, who first spoke at the rally, said the Popsicle sticks were symbolic. "We were finishing up the names last night," Sayko said. "Every five seconds there was a click of another Popsicle stick going in the pile. I wish every time a person died as a result of the war, everyone would hear the click of a Popsicle stick."
Bonnie Gaul, an SDS member, stressed that the focus of the protest was not U.S. troops.
"I'm not against the troops," Gaul said. "I am against the war. I want them to come home safe and as soon as possible."
MU junior Phillip Kyle said he attended the protest because he feels the war is pointless.
"I'm here because it's been five years," Kyle said. "It's not benefiting anyone. It's harming the U.S. and the rest of the world."
Kyle's roommate, MU junior Amanda Mellinger, said Kyle's opinions have opened her eyes to the war. "Fighting is not the way to resolve this," Mellinger said.[1]