Penn students were never ones for activism, but sometimes a call to duty brings students out of the woodwork and onto College Green to rally for a cause.
And for College junior Lincoln Ellis, the likely military response to last Tuesday's terrorist attacks was more than enough to bring him to the center of campus, where he removed his T-shirt and kneeled in the grass to spray-paint "Resist War" on his own red crew-neck shirt.
Ellis was joined by other students throughout the day as a group came together to speak out against military retaliation.
President Bush has repeatedly said that the United States will respond forcefully to the deadly terrorist attacks, promising an all-out retaliation against those responsible for the strikes and against anyone protecting them.
These declarations have caused a practically underground wave of student activism, communicated through e-mails between the Progressive Activist Network, Penn Students Against Sweatshops, the Muslim Student Association and other religious groups, as well as individual students.
Yesterday afternoon, the group met stares as Ellis invited other students to join him on College Green, where several passersby shot him looks of dissatisfaction.
There were to be plenty more stares for the rest of the afternoon as the make-shift group laid numerous shirts across the grass in front of the Love sculpture on Locust Walk. Their statements were scrawled in orange neon on the cotton shirts, boldly declaring "Resist War," "Resist Racism" and "No War."
For Ellis, disturbing thoughts of war hit too close to home after reading an article about members of Penn's Reserve Officer Training Corps readying themselves to go into service.
"I think it's important that students come together to prevent this situation from escalating and causing more lost life," Ellis said.
"I just don't think more war is the solution to a problem over a few misled people's actions."
Throughout the afternoon, student activists traded places with one another between meals and classes, encouraging their classmates to take a stand against the impending violence in America's new war. Still, for the first couple of hours, few uninvolved with the cause stopped by to make a shirt.
"There is a strong sentiment against war on campus," College junior Mary Braun said. "There is a need for many students to express that but people find it hard to do that without ostracizing others or feeling un-American."
Bronwin Lepore, an English professor at the Community College of Philadelphia and LaSalle University, joined the students in their endeavors. Lepore found herself drawn to action last week when she felt surrounded by a strong pro-revenge sentiment as she took cabs into work and downtown to dinner.
"There are so many flags everywhere and such a build-up for war," Lepore said. "A cab driver the other day told me out of the blue that we need to obliterate those bastards. We are here to create an awareness that not all people are into revenge and retaliation."
According to Braun, it had ended up a successful day. After about four hours of determined work, the group had made about 60 shirts -- so many that members were forced to go out and buy more.
For now, the loosely formed coalition of students are seeking to create a dialogue about the issues of revenge and military action facing our country.
"It isn't about peace or about war or love or death," College of General Studies junior Melissa Byrne said. "In times of war the dialogue breaks down and I feel that when you have language and the ability to use it then you can really get somewhere."
To begin these efforts, interested students held an open dialogue in Civic House last night in an effort to create a safe place where people could voice their thoughts and opinions.
Clad in a cream sweater vest with the words "Resist War" branded in black across her stomach, Byrne could hardly contain her excitement at the diverse crowd of people entering Civic House for the meeting.
"This is everything college should be," she exclaimed. "I'm an activist, but this isn't about me being an activist or a lefty, it's about different people coming together and sharing their ideas."
Many in the group were opposed to the possible presence of a reporter in the room during the discussion. They felt it might discourage people from speaking what was really on their minds.
"Its just the idea that it is a safe room in there," Byrne said, selected among the participants to speak about yesterday's events. "If people are afraid to say what they really feel it would be hurtful."
