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  MANDY WHITING Members of SCAW and Bruin Republicans made visible their stances on the war at Meyerhoff Park Wednesday.

By Sophia Chakos-Leiby

Daily Bruin Contributor

More than 50 students from UCLA and surrounding colleges gathered peacefully at Meyerhoff Park Wednesday, some rallying for and others against the war on terrorism.

Members of the Student Coalition Against the War met opposition from members of Bruin Republicans during the rally.

“We want to organize people against the war to show that there is opposition, and that America is not only a politically monolithic country that supports Bush,” said Javier Castro, a second-year undeclared student at Santa Monica College and SCAW member.

Meanwhile, Bruin Republicans present at the event spoke in favor of the war.

“We are here supporting it because when the World Trade Center was knocked down over 6,000 people were killed. The U.S. was then put in the position to respond to this ... and we have made every effort not to kill civilians,” said Eric Zdenek, a second-year history and political science student.

No disputes broke out between the groups, though members from both sides shouted “hypocrite” or made other disparaging remarks. Bruin Republicans members held up American flags.

SCAW’s six speakers criticized the government’s response to Sept. 11, saying it has made no effort to protect Afghan civilian lives.

Speaker Shohali Bose, a UCLA alumna, said it is important to examine the U.S. government’s past involvement in Afghan affairs.

In order to stop Russia from spreading communism three decades ago, the United States began funding Islamic freedom fighting groups that resisted Russian invasion.

“You really must look at yourself and at your country and say, ‘Who is the terrorist here?’” Bose said.

Some people, like fourth-year anthropology student Lynn Yoshikawa, joined the rally as they walked by.

“I don’t want to turn to the government to give me the only solutions to the problems in Afghanistan ... I came here to see what people think,” Yoshikawa said. “That there are people in support and against the war is necessary because we need to create a dialogue about what’s going on.”