Not all Penn State students believe protesting is effective in changing the war movement, but those who do are passionate about their cause.

"We need to raise awareness. I think people want the knowledge that is not necessarily available through mainstream media, they just don't know where to get it," Sacha Brown (senior-English) said.

Brown has organized and participated in numerous protests on campus, such as the Jan. 31 'die-in' at the HUB-Robeson Center.

"An advantage of protests is to let people know they are not the only ones against war. It keeps hope up and raises morale, even when the media and popular culture is telling us that protesting the war is anti-American," she said.

Marc Maxson (graduate-integrative biosciences) began participating in protests after his experience participating in the New York City protest on Feb. 15. Even though Maxson participated in a large protest, he believes small-scale protests can be just as effective.

"The great sacrifice of one can have more impact than the minor sacrifice of many," Maxson said.

However, when gaining the attention of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), Rubina Javeri, USG president, said that the approach of a protest determines its effectiveness.

"Strength comes in numbers," Javeri said. "For example, in the past when students have taken over the HUB lawn, it has definitely caught the attention of USG." Some question the practicality of student protests.

"Unfortunately I don't think protesting on the university level in this instance is effective in reaching the government since they have their own clear visions in thinking in terms of this war and foreign policy in general," said Cheryl Feeley (senior-political science). "The government is not as interested in public support as much as some people would hope." Gina Passero (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) also said protesting war at the university level has little effect when reaching the national government. "The government will not take the protests of a single university into account," she said. "It doesn't make a dent at all, it only makes the protestors feel good."

Brown said he is not discouraged by negative comments made about protesters.

"Hope is the last to die, and, at some point, Bush has to recognize the amount of people against the war," Brown said. "There have been hundreds of thousands in the streets of New York and the war hasn't begun. ... This is just the tip of the iceberg."