A group of approximately fifty students gathered at the Fifteenth Street Bridge during last Thursday’s candlelight vigil for a peaceful resolution to the Middle East crisis.
The event was organized by members of the Rensselaer Alliance for Peace, who have recently united against a possible war against Iraq as a response to Iraq’s takeover of Kuwait.
The vigil lasted for six hours, from 1 pm until 7 pm, and included the distribution of literature by attendees to passers-by and a discussion of the alliance’s viewpoint on a possible war against Iraq.
“This is not a protest but an effort to raise awareness,” said Stephanie Litman, president of the Rensselaer Alliance for Peace.
The alliance initially planned to hold the vigil when the war between the U.S. and Iraq officially begins, but decided to move up the date because of the increasing possibility of offensive military action by the U.S.
“I am here because I am opposed to military action and because there is a need for people to speak what they believe in,” said Stanley Bunce, professor emeritus in the chemistry department.
A major goal of the Rensselaer Alliance for Peace was to obtain signatures for a petition requesting Congress to exercise its power to prevent war.
“We are asking Congress to intervene,” said Gary Tyrell, the member of the Rensselaer Alliance for Peace who wrote the petition.
More than 600 signatures were obtained during the vigil, and copies of the petition were sent to President Bush and New York Senators Patrick Moynihan and Alphonse D’Amato.
