A number of Sacramento State students filled Serna Plaza on Thursday protesting the war in Iraq.

The peace rally was a collaboration between the Campus Progressive Alliance and M.E.Ch.A.

A die-in was held in the grass area in front of the library, prior to the formal rally at Serna Plaza.

CPA Secretary Mallory Savisaar said a die-in is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead, with varying degrees of realism. She said they did this to bring awareness to the war in Iraq and how many lives have been lost so far.

Following the die-in, protesters marched toward Serna Plaza armed with signs that read “Bring peace to the Middle East,” “Stop making war in the name of peace” and “Fight the rich, not their war.”

According to a worldpublicopinion.org poll, 61 percent of Americans believe U.S. armed forces should vacate Iraq, while 32 percent said troops should stay until security improves.

Speakers and musicians took the stage to share their beliefs on the war in Iraq.

Sac State professors Joseph Palermo, an assistant history professor, and Jeff Lustig, a government professor, were among the many who spoke.

Each had their own views about the war.

Political discourse and the number of casualties lost by Americans and Iraqis were among their respective topics.

“We’ve got to organize an anti-war group on campus,” Lustig said.

Jason Berwick, senior history major, said he attended the rally because he believes the peace movement needs to be changed if it’s going to start having a greater affect.

“I came because the peace movement isn’t as strong as it should be, and I wanted to contribute,” Berwick said.

Some students were seen carrying posters with photographs of people dressed in armed services attire.

Maira Villegas was one of those students. She had a poster with a photograph of her brother who has served in the U.S. army for about 12 years and is currently in his second tour in Iraq.

“The war affects me personally,” Villegas said. “I don’t want his life to be at risk for corporate money.”

Villegas recalled the time when her brother first left for Iraq. She said his daughter wasn’t even a year old.

“He has missed an entire year of her life,” she said.

This rally wasn’t the first for Villegas, who attended a similar rally at the San Francisco Civic Center when the war first began. She said she also attended an anti-war rally in New York.

Rally organizer Mary Riordan said she believes there is a large amount of apathy on campus and hopes people strive to change that.

“I hope the rally gets rid of the apathy on campus and that it inspires people to want to pay more attention

and want to be involved,” Riordan said.

Riordan said she wants people to voice their opinions

about what is happening in the world they live in.

“I think it’s important for students, and people who have a problem with what’s going on in the world, to stand up and say something,” she said. “I hope it sends a message of inspiration that you can do something.”

Riordan’s message was not only heard by Sac State students, but those from other college campuses as well.

Israel Alvarado, a student at the University of California, Davis, attended the rally to show his disapproval of the war.

“I’m not affected directly by it, but I am affected indirectly,” he said.

Alvarado said he heard about the rally through a friend of his and thought he would attend because his school hasn’t had any rallies of this magnitude.

“UC Davis doesn’t have things to this extent?everything there is low key,” Alvarado said.

Local peace and anti-war groups had tables set up with people selling t-shirts and handing out informational pamphlets.

Military Families Speak Out, Zapatista Coalition and the Freedom and Peace Party were among some of the groups in attendance.

Robert Copsey, junior sociology major, was there and also had first-hand experience in the Iraq war.

The Iraq war veteran, who was stationed early in the war, said he has positive feelings for rallies like this one.

“I think they’re great?if a rally like this one gets one person to get a political conscience, it’s great,” Copsey said.

Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected].