UCI War Rally Erupts Into Shouting Match

Supporters of the allied military effort in the Persian Gulf staged their first rally at UC Irvine on Tuesday, sparking a peaceful but impassioned confrontation with anti-war demonstrators.

At the center of the fury was a makeshift coffin, draped with a U.S. flag and set up by anti-war demonstrators to show their opposition to a noontime rally in support of Bush Administration war policy.

As the emotional “Support the Troops” rally of more than 300 students began to break up, more than a dozen pro- and anti-war activists gathered on either side of the coffin and spoke their minds in rising tones, their words often inaudible amid the din.

“Coward!” one pro-war activist shouted at an anti-war protester a few inches away across the coffin.

“Warmonger!” came the rejoinder. “Hypocrite!”

“The only reason you’re against the war,” one student shouted at an adversary, “is because you don’t want to fight! . . . You’re afraid you’d get drafted!”

But anti-war activists, while clearly outnumbered at the pro-Bush rally, countered with peace chants. Alternately, they characterized the war as a needless way for the United States to exert its political muscle, as a suppression of the Arab people or as an economic ploy to protect U.S. oil interests under the guise of democracy.

The face-off broke up peacefully after about 20 minutes, with students returning to their classes and going to lunch. Neither side appeared swayed, but two activists who had shouted at each other did shake hands.

Since the war began earlier this month, UCI has become a rallying point for Orange County anti-war activists. But students on both sides of the fence and campus administrators said Tuesday’s rally and the shouting that followed were the most heated and confrontational incidents yet.

Comparisons to the turbulent 1960s were immediate and unavoidable for such onlookers as Horace Mitchell, the vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, who has attended most of the rallies--all of which, before Tuesday’s, were against the war.

“I think all of this is very much a plus for the campus--it gets students in touch with the their responsibility to become involved to try to impact world policies,” he said.

The pro-Bush rally was organized by students in a campus group called the Israel-Jewish Peace Club, who said they were bothered because they did not think that their perspective was being told at UCI.

“If there are only anti-war protests, people get misconceptions about the views on campus,” said Brett Nemeth, a junior from Huntington Beach who is a co-chairman of the club.

Several speakers--including four of the five county supervisors (Supervisor Thomas F. Riley did not attend), 35th District state Senate candidate Dana Reed and several student and community Jewish activists--said the United States has a moral responsibility to rid the Middle East of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, especially in view of his unprovoked attacks on Israel.

One demonstrator’s sign read: “To Not Fight Evil Is Evil.” Other pro-Bush supporters wore flag-adorned stickers on their clothes that read: “Go Desert Storm.”

But as the rally wound down in the early afternoon, anti-war protesters began shouting at the speakers. They said they were upset because they were not given an open mike to voice their views.

Security officers placed the participants at the rally at 300 to 400. Organizers had predicted 500 to 1,000 but said they were satisfied with the turnout.

A series of anti-war protests in the last two weeks have drawn up to 1,000 people each, campus officials said.

The anti-war people did not apologize for their outbursts during the rally.

Joshua Nave, a sophomore from San Pedro who has helped lead anti-war rallies on campus, said: “We have a moral imperative to get up and make as much noise as we can when people are getting killed.”