Students who want to speak out against the possible war with Iraq had the opportunity Saturday to join a worldwide protest against U.S. foreign policy at a rally in Madison.

Similar protests took place Saturday in San Francisco and Washington D.C., as well as Germany, Denmark and Sweden.

Sophomore Nathan Kalmoe, one of the people who organized transportation for UW-Eau Claire students, estimated that a total 400 to 500 people attended the rally at the state capital.

A bus left the university with 30 people aboard, and between 10 and 20 others came in their own cars for a showing of 40 to 50 Eau Claire students, Kalmoe said.

“In organizing this we got a pretty good turnout,” Kalmoe said. “But we also talked to dozens of other people who wanted to go, but later found out they were working or something. There’s a significant population of people in Eau Claire who are opposed to the war, certainly more than 50.”

Organizers picked Oct. 26 for the protest, as it was the one-year anniversary of the Patriot Act, which was enacted in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. The act gives more power to government law enforcement agencies.

Mathew Rothchild, editor of The Progressive magazine, began the event with a moment of silence and a dedication to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone who died the day before.

“(Wellstone) was one of the 23 senators who voted against the war resolution,” Kalmoe said. “I’m quite confident he would have wanted the protest to continue.”

Other speakers at the event included Eau Claire geology professor Zoltan Grossman, author and activist Allen Ruff and Vietnam War veteran Will Williams who led the protesters in singing, “All that we want is power to the people.”

At other points during the protest, demonstrators were chanting, “Know justice, know peace,” Kalmoe said.

“No blood for oil,” and “Baby Bush, we know you, your father was a killer, too,” were other chants recited by the crowd.

Senior Cynthia Patterson attended the rally and said that the experience was “overpowering.”

“It was really an incredible experience,” Patterson said. “Everyone was so determined. It was an amazing crowd to be in.”

Patterson said she attended the protest because she feels the war is discriminatory and is being pushed by an administration motivated by greed.

“You can’t make a difference unless your energy comes from love,” Patterson said. “The people behind (the protests) are just normal people filled with love.”

Besides UW-Madison, there were also students from UW-LaCrosse, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Milwaukee, Kalmoe said. He said that beyond those who attended the protest, he feels there are others who also oppose the war but are afraid to speak out.

“I encourage everybody who’s against the war to be more vocal,” Kalmoe said. “Just talk to friends and family about the issues. If everybody gets past the fear of being labeled unpatriotic, there’d be a lot more protestors.”