An anti-war rally on the steps of Pattee yesterday attracted about 50 protesters, making it one of the smallest campus demonstrations since the Persian Gulf War began.

Despite the commencement of a full-scale ground offensive Saturday, most students appeared uninterested, walking quietly past the noontime ralliers.

"I think a lot of (students) look at them the same way as the Willard preacher," said Tom Bello (junior-sociology).

Some passers-by hollered: "Don't you have anything better to do?" and "You don't know what you're talking about." One man, dressed in a green camouflage jacket, elicited cheers from bystanders and the anti-war protesters when he yelled, "God bless our troops."

Gerard Louison, Black Caucus vice president, was one of five anti-war protesters to address the crowd. He encouraged students to seek more information about the gulf crisis.

"To analyze something you need both sides of the story," he said. "Think critically, students . . . you need to question everyone."

The anti-war protesters marched down the Mall to the Allenway office building, 315 S. Allen St., which contains several federal government offices, including U.S. Rep. William Clinger's.

A spokesperson from Clinger's office said they were not aware a protest was held there.

But employees eating lunch in the building's atrium joked about the protesters. One women, who does not work in Clinger's office, said the representative was not in State College.

"He's not even here today," she said. "He was here Friday, but (the protesters) were all probably too stoned on Friday."

During the demonstration at Pattee, Dave Dershin (junior-civil engineering) criticized some students for not realizing the severity of a ground war. Early reports said 11 American soldiers died since the land offensive began.

"I heard somebody say, 'That's pretty good,' " Dershin said, adding that any loss of life is regrettable.

John Black, producer of WPSU's radio program "View from the Left," also spoke to the crowd.

"What you have is a bunch of poor people being sacrificed for the interests of the rich and powerful," Black said.

Black's speech was drowned out by the shouts of an angry passerby.

"For 50 years this man was supporting communists in Eastern Europe," yelled Roman Cakon (graduate-mathematics and political science), pointing at Black. "My father was in a German concentration camp."

Cakon, whose family is from Czechoslovakia, later said, "(Black's) followers are all the same students who show up at the rallies."

Black dismissed the personal attack by calling Cakon a "looney" and implying he was drunk. Some members of the crowd called for Cakon to be given the microphone, but he angrily strode into the library.

Warner Sabio, vice president of Students and Youth Against Racism, criticized America's involvement in the Persian Gulf War while it neglects domestic problems.

Afterward he said, "It's more than an anti-war rally. We're tying issues together that concern us and interrelate everything."

One student who stopped to listen to the speeches commented, "Ridiculous. They call this support for our troops? This is insane."

Other students expressed similar skepticism.

"These people can speak their opinions but if you asked them how they got here, they probably drove," said Chris Buzzard (senior-health policy and administration). "No blood for oil? They're not thinking about what they're saying."

Mike Marshall (junior-quanitative business analysis) said, "They're nice people. It's a chance (for them) to share their views, but what's it going to do? Nothing."

But many anti-war protesters remained optimistic.

"It takes awhile for people to recognize what's on their retina," said Ron Gruici, a Lemont resident. "They may see it, but it takes awhile for it to sink in.

"Right now you see a lot of dumb stares . . . people are trying to figure out what they think about the whole thing," Gruici said.

Before the demonstration at Allenway dispersed, one protester encouraged the crowd to picket military recruiting centers and Wagner Building, the ROTC building on campus.