One hundred and nineteen pairs of empty boots stood in a corner of the Tisch library patio yesterday morning and afternoon as part of a demonstration against the Iraq war sponsored by the Tufts Coalition Opposed to the War in Iraq (TCOWI).
Each pair of boots represented one of the 119 U.S. soldiers from New England who has died in the war. Each included a nametag identifying a soldier by name, age, rank, date of death and hometown. The number 119 was provided by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker pacifist group that also supplied the boots.
The Web site "Iraq Coalition Casualty Count" places the number of New England casualties at 123, with Massachusetts leading the way with 45. The total number of U.S. military fatalities stands at 2,853 through Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It's important that the human element of the war is made evident to the American community," freshman TCOWI member Gabe Frumkin said. "The press can't show the coffins returning from Iraq, and those images helped turn the sentiment in Vietnam."
"Each of the boots has a name, date and rank," Frumkin said. "Some of them were 19 years old. I'm 19. It's really moving to know that with slightly different circumstances, I could be in Iraq."
TCOWI members also solicited signatures for a petition advocating the United States' immediate withdrawal from the war in Iraq, the position the group holds on the war. Frumkin said that about 30 people had signed the petition at 1:45 p.m. yesterday.
"I thought there have been pretty positive responses overall," Frumkin said. "It's sometimes hard to qualify or quantify what people think, but almost everyone's taken a flier."
Frumkin said that no one was openly confrontational.
"Some people say they don't advocate immediate withdrawal, but that's about the most aggressive response we've heard."
"I thought it was kind of personalizing," freshman Conor Halloran said after walking by the demonstration. "Seeing the towns on the boots sort of brought it home more. Personally, I think we have to stay [in Iraq] to fix the problems, but I appreciate the sentiment."
Sophomore Danielle Samuelson said that she doesn't consider herself well informed about the war, but is "definitely against it."
"I thought it was a good idea to show the students how many people are dying and ... it was good to put it in such a central location."
The demonstration will continue today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 4:30, the group will light candles for a vigil to "honor all the victims of the war, both American and Iraqi," Frumkin said. "It should be pretty moving."
At 7 p.m., TCOWI is hosting a viewing of "The Ground Truth," a 2006 anti-war documentary whose subjects are U.S. soldiers.
The Tufts Democrats are co-sponsoring the film viewing, according to the group's president, Kayt Norris.
"We have very different approaches [from TCOWI]; however, we also have a common goal of changing the direction of the Iraq War," Norris said.
Frumkin said that TCOWI is trying to increase its cooperation with the Tufts Democrats.
"It's very important to realize that a sizable majority of the American population wants the war to end, and many want it to end as soon as possible," he said.
"It's logical that we cooperate with other progressive-minded groups so that our message is more widely heard."
Frumkin hopes that TCOWI's spurt of activity drums up support for a citywide march this Saturday. The Stop the Wars Coalition is organizing the event, which will leave from Boston Common and march to "key businesses that are grotesquely profiting off the war in Iraq," according to Frumkin, who hopes the march will feature a strong contingent of Tufts students.
