Tired of seeing college students represented in the media as against military action, College Republican Louis Crisostomo and his co-founders of Students in Support of America are planning to hold a rally on Thursday in support of the U.S. government's actions.
Crisostomo said the rally, which will be held on the steps of the Memorial Library from noon to 1 p.m., is intended to show solidarity with the men and women in uniform.
Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow and state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, will speak.
Mike Duffey, a co-founder of SSA, plans to participate in the rally because he believes that although the Madison media portray students as being largely anti-war, he does not think this is a proper reflection.
'In the past month there have been a lot of protests in opposition to military action and we thought it was time that the students who are in support of what our nation is doing, unify and let their voices be heard,' Duffey said.
Tony Blodgett, who worked with Duffey and Crisostomo to organize the rally, agreed.
'Right after the events on Sept. 11, a group of liberal extremists immediately went out and protested,' Blodgett said. 'But 90 percent of Americans are in support of Bush and we do not want Madison labeled as anti-American.'
Crisostomo said he thinks activists do not represent the views of the average student.
'The people that are participating in this rally do not usually participate in activism. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and ideologies. They are the people who work, study and generally give their energies to other things,' Crisostomo said. 'It's just that now they feel compelled to speak up to show that they disagree with how they are being portrayed by anti-war demonstrators.'
Despite the fact that the group putting on the rally disagrees with the peace protesters, Crisostomo said they do understand why they are protesting.
'I can sympathize with the peace rallies. No one is in favor of war. We didn't ask for a war, but we have to respond,' he said. 'The only other alternative is to live in constant fear.'
