Going For Peace

MUPeace, in conjunction with West Virginia Patriots for Peace, erected an Iraqi War Memorial on Buskirk Field Thursday.

The memorial spanned over 200 feet and included 23 panels with names of American servicemen who died. On each full panel, 81 names were handwritten.

We want to get a dialogue started for a peaceful solution in Iraq," MUPeace Coordinator Maura Conway said. "We're looking for a withdrawal or anything to speed up the process to get out."

Though not convinced pulling out of Iraq is the answer, sophomore nursing major Elizabeth Colby said the message was powerful.

"You see the numbers on the news but you don't always see the names," Colby said. "But it doesn't change my mind at all. I still think we made the right decision."

The event was only the second time West Virginia Patriots for Peace erected the memorial on a college campus, Director Richard Martin said. The names are updated "as frequently as possibly," Martin said. The memorial is set up every Friday afternoon in Charleston.

"We want to bring our troops home," Martin said. "We don't want to see anymore immoral loss of life in Iraq."

MUPeace is a campus organization formerly under the name MAPS, or Marshall Action for Peaceful Solutions.

MUPeace is sponsoring a trip to Washington, D.C., Sept. 24 to take part in an Anti-War Rally.

As of Monday morning, the current death toll in Iraq had reached 1,896, according to the Department of Defense Web site.