Political pundits around the country have weighed in on the Iraq war, but yesterday in State College, students took their turn to debate the issue.

Students from Lori Bedell's Communication Arts and Sciences 100 (Effective Speech) course took sides at State College Area High School, arguing the pros and cons of the war to two groups, each with about 60 students.

Bedell, a lecturer in communication arts and sciences, said the opportunity was beneficial for her students to practice speaking outside of a classroom setting. "I wanted to give the [Penn State] students the opportunity to have a more realistic situation," Bedell said. "It combines social and civic engagement, which is what we're about, with real-life experiences."

Students broke into four teams of four students each, with two teams debating at a time. Each team represented either the pro-war or anti-war position. In between the debaters' remarks, students posed questions to the debaters.

Patrick Farrell (senior-accounting), who argued for the war, told the students Saddam Hussein was enough of a threat before the war to warrant his removal. "Saddam has proven himself to be a clear and present danger to us and the rest of the world," he said.

Bedell said the teams were chosen with no regard for political beliefs.

"All the evidence that the administration had against Iraq was purely circumstantial," Brendan Day (senior-science) said, explaining to the students that the United States was unjustified in invading Iraq.

Bedell said she has been hosting debates at the high school with her classes for the past three semesters.

Martha Kalasky (sophomore-biology), who was assigned to the pro-war side, made the case for patience in rebuilding Iraq democratically. "It's taken Saddam 35 years to do all he's done," Kalasky said. "It's not going to take 35 days to change it; we have to be patient."

During her speech, Sabina Ptasznik (senior-theatre and international studies), who was assigned to the anti-war position, questioned the United States' motives for going to war. "We're not there for the Iraqis, we're there for us," she said. "We don't have their trust."

Bedell added that the high school students could use the opportunity to learn about what's going on at the university.

"These high school kids get a sense of what people in college, almost their peers, are doing at Penn State," she said.

State High student Sara Carpenter, who said she holds anti-war views, said the debate gave her a greater understanding of the issue.

"It let me see both sides of the story," Carpenter said. "I understand now why some people are for the war."