Tufts students attend peace rally on Boston Common

In what organizers called the largest peace rally since the Gulf War, more than 15,000 people assembled on Boston Common Sunday to protest for peace.

Protestors at the rally expressed a wide variety of views on peace, holding signs with messages ranging from "Shalom" to "Oil and blood don't mix."

Several Tufts students attended the rally, scattered throughout the crowd, as there was no organized Tufts representation. A few students went with a Peace and Justice Studies class, while others went on their own.

Some students, such as senior Eugene Schiff, went on their own to support the cause of peace. "I was impressed that there were a lot of different types of people there," Schiff said. "It was good to get away from campus and see that there was a whole range of children and adults present; that's something that you don't often get to see on campus."

The group of speakers addressing the crowd was as diverse as the crowd itself _ a Buddhist monk, actor Tim Robbins, and historian Howard Zinn all expressed support for peace.

The rally had clear political overtones and references to today's midterm elections. Jill Stein, the Massachusetts Green Party candidate for governor, spoke at the event, while signs supported Democratic Party candidate Shannon O'Brien. Supporters for write-in candidate Randall Forsberg were also present.

One of the rally's main themes was concern about government interests in Iraq and how they might lead to war. Robbins spoke about how "we are giving power to the oilmen," who he claims are seeking contracts with dictators in order to further their economic gain. Vice President Dick Cheney was named as one of those "oilmen."

Zinn focused on the irony of perpetrating terrorism in the name of eliminating it. "War is terrorism," he said, and proposed devoting resources to helping "wherever people are hungry and sick."

Although most of the attention was on the speakers, there was a lot of peripheral activity at the rally. A group of "radical cheerleaders" conveyed their message creatively, waving black and red pom-poms and showing off their choreography.

The rally concluded with a march down Tremont St.

"I thought that it was really successful; the march got the attention of a lot of people in Boston," Schiff said.