Wearing a George W. Bush mask, a student stood erect holding a sign for everyone to see -- "Stop me before I kill again."

Members of the Kent State Anti-War Committee held a rally yesterday in Risman Plaza to protest U.S. actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Laura Vild, committee member, told students the Middle East conflict has nothing to do with freedom.

"We need to keep things in check," she said. "We can no longer stand by and keep silent."

In protest of war with Iraq, Vild participated in the Not In Our Name pledge Oct. 6. The rally was held in Central Park in New York City.

The Not in Our Name project began in March to propose ways to strengthen and expand resistance to the government's course in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the project's Web site.

"If we allow Congress to give a blank check to Bush, who is to say he's going to stop there?" Vild said. "Over 6,000 innocent civilians have died in Afghanistan. There's no way that an Afghan's life is worth less than an American's life."

Some students on their way to class paused to listen as Vild spoke about war with Iraq.

"How many representatives have overlooked calls, letters and e-mails?" Vild said. "The media has whited out the truth. We're not with George Bush or the terrorists, we're with the people of this world.

"One in five kids in the United States lives in deep poverty. There are better places to spend money than an estimated $9 billion per month to invade Iraq."

A year after the onset of Bush's war on terrorism, many Americans are not satisfied with the country's action, Vild said.

"There have been no other alternatives spoken about bringing peace to the world other than war," she said. "Today is Columbus Day. Columbus wages virtual war against an indigenous people seeking land and gold -- not freedom.

"Our nation was founded in the name of liberty and justice for all, and this is not justice."

Committee member Chris Fox told students about Iraq's history and involvement with the United States.

"In 1979, Saddam Hussein took power in Iraq," he said. "He is not a fundamentalist Muslim. His goal is political power, not religious [power].

"(About) 200,000 Iraqis, many civilians, died during the Gulf War. Saddam Hussein is more powerful than ever, and we've done nothing but slaughter innocent Iraqis."

Fox said according to the United Nations, 5,000 Iraqi children under the age of five die every month because of the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War.

"They die because they cannot get the basic supplies needed to live," he said.

Mike Pesa, a member of Coalition for a Humane And New Global Economy, said students against the war must speak out.

"If elected officials won't represent us and the media won't report the truth, we're going to have to speak for ourselves," he said. "The 'power over people' people are overstepping their bounds. If we stand together, we will survive the storm.

"Until that day, we must keep saying 'not in our name and not with our money.'"

Following the statements, Vild asked students against the war to join them in reciting the Not In Our Name pledge of resistance.

Brian Pearsall, member of Anti-Racist Action, participated in the pledge.

"Innocent people just like us are dying because of the United States," he said. "It's not the will of the people. People don't agree with what our government is doing."

E-mail: raweber@kent.edu