Latino Students Call for End to Fighting in the Persian Gulf : Vigils: Protesters say a land war would involve a disproportionate number of minority casualties.

With the deadline for a possible land war in the Persian Gulf only hours away, Latino students called for an end to the fighting during a two-hour vigil Friday evening outside an armed forces recruiting station in San Fernando.

About 50 candle-holding students and activists from San Fernando Valley colleges and high schools lined the sidewalk outside the Maclay Avenue office to condemn a war that they said would send a disproportionate number of Latinos and other minorities to their graves.

Minorities make up 26.4% of the population but comprise nearly a third of the military, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Latinos--8.3% of the population--make up 5% of military personnel overall but are more heavily represented in the Army and Marines, which typically take the brunt of casualties, Defense statistics show. Twenty-three percent of the military is black, compared with 12% in the general population.

“These Chicano-Latino soldiers out there could be here helping us out,” said Ernesto Ortega, 22, a sophomore studying history and political science at Valley College. “We have our own problems--high dropout rates, gangs and drugs.”

The vigil was sponsored by the San Fernando Valley Chicano-Latino Coalition for Peace, organized last week by Latino students who oppose the war. Most members attend Cal State Northridge and Valley College.

Military recruiters inside the office appeared unfazed despite a chorus of chants of “No blood for oil” and signs stating “War is a hate crime.”

“They’re free to do what they want,” U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Orlando J. Estevez said as he headed for his car after work. “That’s what we’re here to protect.”

Miguel Perez, a Latino activist who lives in Sylmar, spoke out against the war even though his 22-year-old son, Brandon, is a Marine lance corporal stationed in Saudi Arabia. “I support my son and I support the troops,” he said. “But I do not support U.S. intervention in the Gulf.”