A crowd gathered to protest the War in Iraq last night at the Allen Street Gates, creating what weekly protesters said was one of the largest anti-Iraq War protests in State College history.

The protest, which at various times numbered more than 80 people, some of whom carried signs that said "Impeach Bush" and banged on pots, was held to mark the fourth anniversary of the War in Iraq.

"The reason for the large turnout of people here is to raise awareness of the Iraq War on the beginning of the fifth year of the war," Jo Dumas, a College of Communications lecturer who was part of the protest, said.

Dumas said the pots were in memory of the late political columnist Molly Ivins, an outspoken critic of the War in Iraq who recently passed away. In a Jan. 11 column, Ivins encouraged war protesters to get out in the streets and bang pots to oppose the war, the Associated Press reported.

Many protesters said it was a mistake for America to invade Iraq. They also said they are concerned that the war has lasted far longer than was originally intended.

"The killing is still going on. The dying is still going on. It's a very bad situation," Peter Shaw, a member of the local Veterans for Peace, said.

Several local anti-war groups organized the protest, including the State College Veterans for Peace and the State College Peace Center. Peter Morris, treasurer of the Peace Center, said he was encouraged to see the large crowd, which included more students than previous protests.

"I think we're having an effect. What I fear is nothing big will happen until the end of Bush's term," Morris said.

Protester Elisabet Eppes (sophomore-biobehavioral health) said she thinks students can have an impact on the decisions politicians make.

"Young people's opinions are really important. Sometimes college-aged students don't think that politicians will listen to their opinions, but they will," Eppes said.

The reaction from observers was mixed. Hye Won (doctoral candidate-applied linguistics) said she thought it was good to see people expressing their opinions so vocally, but she doubted it would have a large impact.

"It's a small town and a sort of small number of people trying to express their opinions. I don't think it will affect things in any significant way, but it's good to see people expressing their ideas," Won said.

However, other students felt that the protests would have an effect.

"People wouldn't listen if nobody said anything. People are angry, and they need to be able to express that," Brian Finkelman (junior-biology) said.