As the mixture of exuberant chatter and classic rock music faded, the lights dimmed and a projector screen lit up with the image of flag-laden caskets.

This was the scene at the beginning of the State College Peace Center's screening of the documentary Soldiers Speak Out last night at the State College Municipal Building, 243 S. Allen St.

The documentary's director, Barbara Trent, spoke before the showing. She said she hoped Penn State students would be moved to demonstrate against the Iraq war after seeing the film.

"When I heard that there were 40,000 students at this university, I thought, 'that's enough to stop the war right there,' " Trent said.

The 30-minute documentary featured United States military veterans speaking out against the Iraq War, citing dehumanizing military tactics, misleading recruitment and overall disillusionment of soldiers.

For Silvi Alcivar (graduate-English) the documentary's subject matter was all too familiar.

"As somebody who has a lot of friends with family members in the military and three brothers who served and don't talk about it, it's something that hits very close to home," she said.

Supporting families of military personnel is one of the best ways to oppose the war, Trent said.

"We have to offer options to those who chose not to re-deploy," she said. "Let them know they have the choice to stop."

Her organization, the Empowerment Project, is a media resource center seeking to support progressive filmmakers. Some of her previous documentaries include The Panama Deception, Waging Peace, Destination Nicaragua and Coverup: Behind the Iran-Contra Affair.

One of the main goals of all her documentaries is to get the word out to students, she said.

"Our purpose in creating this DVD is to get it into schools across the country," she said.

Trent criticized the Bush administration for a lack of support for military personnel.

"No administration has been so criminally negligent with regard to the safety of our troops," she said.

Brian Roth (junior-psychology) said he also questioned blind support for the war and the administration's policies.

"A lot of people put bumper stickers on their cars, but what are they really saying?" he said. "Are they supporting the troops, or the policies? Those are two very different things."

Trent cited a lack of concern on the part of the media as an obstacle to the anti-war movement.

"The media rarely takes time to analyze why we're demonstrating," she said. "When is the last time you saw headlines that read 'War devastates U.S. economy'?"

State College Peace Center member Bob Long was shaken by the film enough to have very little comment.

"It was very good," Long said.