The UW-Madison chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network stressed the need for a national social movement to end the Iraq war during its fall kick-off meeting Monday.

CAN is an independent, democratic organization whose primary purpose is to end the war. Each semester the organization buses to large demonstrations and protests.

Jenny Wustmann, UW-Madison sophomore and CAN member, emphasized the importance of student activism in social movements such as the women’s suffrage, civil rights and the Vietnam anti-war.

“If you’re ready to raise your voice and make history, you’re in the right place,” Wustmann said.

With the presidential election less than two months away, CAN is focusing on bringing awareness to the student body.

“If Obama or McCain gets elected, we just continue to fight for the issues we stand for … It’s up to us to take the politics,” UW-Madison senior and CAN member Rob Lewis said.

According to CAN member Ben Ratliffe, a Madison Area Technical College student, there has been no mainstream media coverage on the war in 2008. He said the U.S. media and its citizens have lost interest in the war, but the war still has a veritable impact in the United States.

Wustmann said the real change happens from the bottom up.

“We owe it to our country to stand up to this illegal war. We have the power. We can do it,” she said.