About 300 students and area residents with conflicting opinions about U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf war met in a candlelight vigil last night on the steps of Old Main to observe the crisis.

Following the groups singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" and then "Give Peace a Chance," a shouting match between people holding American and Israeli flags and those wearing peace signs broke out but gradually dissolved into small discussions of differing viewpoints.

The vigil, one of many held simultaneously by Big Ten universities, was planned last weekend by Big Ten undergraduate student government leaders.

The majority of the crowd appeared to support U.S. involvement in the gulf. People held signs urging support for troops, comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler and accusing Hussein of racism.

"I don't necessarily agree with the fact that we've gone to war, but now that we have I think it's dangerous not to send the right message to the troops," said Steve Robertson, who served in the Coast Guard and now lives in State College.

Larry Young, director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, said before the vigil that although the U.S. and Iraq regard each other as evil, each nation's citizens are human.

"Our humanity and our humaneness make us one," Young said. "This life on this planet, with each other, is all that we have ... there are no other options."

Undergraduate Student Government town senator Joe Atkinson spoke in support of the troops, saying diplomacy had already been tried.

"In this world today we cannot let aggression go unanswered," Atkinson said.

But it is not too late to change the course of events said Amanda Shauger, an Eco-action member asking for peace.

"We can shape the outcome of U.S. Policy," Shauger said. "Peace is powerful."

To much applause, Shauger added the country must cut down on the use of oil.

"I think we need to look at the future, we need to develop an economy that's not dependent on oil," she said.