Passersby on State Street Saturday may have been greeted by the Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam and President Bush walking from Library Mall to the Capitol. In addition to these puppets, protesters spanning two blocks and more than 30 organizations gathered for Voices for Peace Day. These groups called for peace in light of recent tensions with countries such as Syria and North Korea.
Steve Ringwood, an organizer and UW-Madison senior, said the purpose of the march was to make the public realize there are still people advocating peace.
\The [Bush] administration is already talking about various places where they will go next and those won't be by peaceful means. They've set their sights elsewhere. There's still a need to advocate for peace and alternatives to violent ways to resolve conflict,"" Ringwood said.
Also advocating peace was Madison Mothers Acting Up, which sought to call attention to Mother's Day, May 11. A MMAU member, Maya Cole, urged remembrance of what this holiday represents.
""Mother's Day was originally a proclamation by Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War that mothers should have one day of peace ... [Howe] says 'stop sending our sons to war ... our husbands shouldn't reek of carnage,'"" Cole said.
This peace is not possible without education, said Ted McManus, an organizer of the event.
""What we are learning is how aware people are, and seriously they don't seem as aware as we hoped. Our mission for the summer must be an educational one. We have to raise awareness of that state of war which we are still living under.""
Many groups saw the war as draining resources from an already struggling economy.
""I get disgusted that we may be doing this again. It's not where we should be pouring our resources. We should be pouring them into education,"" Cole said.
According to Mike Quieto, president of the Teaching Assistants' Association, education should take precedence over war in our nation's agenda.
""At issue is a set of national priorities, which currently education is at the bottom. For the average student, our very access to higher education is endangered by national priorities based on war and tax relief for the rich,"" Quieto said.
McManus said these priorities might change with efforts to educate the public.
""We are learning today what the consciousness is about the state of war. ... Peace is not the absence of war, peace is the presence of justice,"" McManus said.
