To the beat of a single drummer, representatives from various University and community anti-war groups marched across campus Saturday.

The peace march -- marking the one-month anniversary of the Persian Gulf war -- drew more than 150 protesters.

Some group members sang verses from "We Shall Overcome" and "Blowin' In The Wind." Others chanted. One man beat a drum and several carried signs reading "Stop the bombing now" and "Don't hate me because I'm peaceful; I support our troops, but not our war."

A rally, scheduled for the steps of Old Main, was moved indoors because of the 16-degree cold and a wind-chill factor of minus 8.

The group gathered to hear speeches at the Wesley Foundation, 256 E. College Ave., after walking a brief parade route from the HUB parking lot, west on College Avenue and up the Mall to Old Main.

Most of the speakers vented their frustration at President Bush and the current administration for its role in the Persian Gulf war.

"The question remains, why did Bush start this war? Well, who knows what goes on in the head of the man who picked Dan Quayle as his running mate?" said Dave Falchek, a member of the College Democrats.

"I think the bottom line here is that we'll never know if sanctions could have avoided this war . . . we'll never know if Bush tried diplomacy, if that could have stopped this war," Falchek said.

Falchek criticized the Bush administration for "buying" votes from the countries that make up the U.N. Security Council so it appeared the United States had support from the world community. Falchek also said he did not think Bush explored every possible avenue to prevent war.

"As a politician . . . George Bush has to be able to say to the mothers and fathers of the dead soldiers that he tried every alternative to war possible; And I don't think George Bush can say that," he said.

Other speakers criticized the president for not being truthful to the American people.

"I think of the idea of George Bush saying there will be no draft. And I remember him saying, 'Read my lips, no new taxes.' And I'm thinking, read my lips, no draft," said Amanda Shauger, director of the Student Peace Initiative.

"I think that's a joke and I think that's something we all need to prepare for," she said.

Monica Somocurcio, president of Students and Youth Against Racism, blasted the nation's military leaders --especially Bush -- for pursuing war strategies that killed civilians.

"Two days ago in Baghdad, the Pentagon criminals deliberately murdered hundreds of civilians in a bomb shelter," she said. "Bush claimed they had intelligence showing that that building was a military installation. But yet somehow they had no idea that there were hundreds of people in there who used it every evening as shelter."

Somocurcio said it has been reported that none of the Western journalists in Baghdad found any military property or personnel.

"Bush and the U.S. government are targeting civilians just like they did in Panama . . . in Vietnam and in Korea," she said. "Targeting civilians has been part of Pentagon's policy for years. It's part of a terror campaign against the Iraqi population."

Glenn Mitchell, reverend of the University Baptist and Brethren Church, said last week's bombings "proved that there can be no such thing as a surgical war."

"There can be no war that does not kill, maim and tear apart our society," he said.

Mitchell said the peace protesters should view the the death of Iraqi soldiers with as much remorse as the loss of American soldiers.

"In the eyes of God, all lives are precious," he said.

Darren McPhilimy, co-founder of American Dreamers -- a recently formed anti-war group -- encouraged students in the audience to keep the war in the forefront of people's minds.

"You can help dispel the air of normalcy that befogs this campus as even now people die halfway around the globe," he said. "Yes, life goes on for some. But people are dying even now as we gather, even now as we speak, people are dying."

McPhilimy urged students to adopt a daily routine that demonstrates their peacefulness.

"I ask you to go to class everyday and be prepared for each day's assignments. But let your classmates know that you support peace," he said. "Wear a peace button, be seen posting flyers on the classroom wall. When role is called or when you answer a question raise the peace sign.

"And then participate in class. Show your instructors and your classmates that you are an intelligent, thoughtful person, and you are for peace."