CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Bikers pass by a palm tree decorated with a yellow ribbon Sunday in front of the Nugent building. College Republicans hung yellow ribbons across campus in support of troops overseas.

When the College Republicans put up yellow ribbons last week to show support for U.S. troops abroad, they didn't anticipate having to monitor the UA Mall with video cameras.

The group hung 200 ribbons Thursday night, only a few days after 150 ribbons were removed from the Mall. According to Pete Seat, the club's president, members of the club patrolled the area throughout the night, with one member setting up a Web cam.

Seat said the camera recorded two unidentified females taking the ribbons down in front of the Nugent and the Old Chemistry buildings at approximately 3 a.m. Friday morning.

"You can't identify who they are, but you can clearly see them running with the (ribbons)," Seat said.

Originally, questions arose as to whether anti-war protesters, Facilities Management employees or simply nature had taken down the ribbons.

However, according to a UA groundskeeper, a group of groundskeepers removed the ribbons from trees last Tuesday without knowing what they represented.

"We start at 6 a.m. and take everything down," the source said.

But Al Tarcola, director of Facilities Management, said that maintenance workers only disposed of ribbons that had already fallen to the ground, or had been damaged by sprinklers or wind.

All Facilities Management employees were told not to remove the ribbons once they were put back up Thursday, Tarcola said.

Seat and the College Republicans are now responsible for cleaning up the ribbons, as well as eventually taking them down.

However, the College Republicans aren't the only ones taking up and keeping watch over yellow ribbons.

Other groups and organizations throughout Tucson have set up 24-hour watches over areas with high yellow ribbon populations.

Robert Douglas, a part-time student, said that about a week and a half ago, he tied ribbons on lampposts along East Speedway Boulevard, near the Army Recruiting Station.

Within a couple of days, they had all been removed.

Now, Douglas, in conjunction with friends who live near the university area, plans to set up a number of Web cams with the hope of catching whoever is taking down the ribbons.

If anyone is caught on camera, Douglas said he plans to print the photos and send them to various media outlets throughout Tucson and Phoenix.

"If their photos are printed, can you imagine how they will be treated in a military town?" he said, adding that he fears if someone is caught taking down ribbons violence could break out.

The College Republicans were confronted Thursday before they began hanging the ribbons by about 10 protesters who disapproved of the yellow ribbons, Seat said. He also said that after the confrontation, the protesters began putting up black ribbons, symbolic of all the lives lost in the war.

"(Putting up the yellow ribbons is) not about supporting the troops, it's about supporting government agenda," said Yusuke J. Banno, who discussed the ribbons with the College Republicans. "If you really support the troops, you wouldn't want them over there."

However, Scott Weller, College Republicans state chairman, said that despite differing opinions on the war in Iraq, it is important to realize that the troops are carrying out orders from the commander in chief.

"They're liberating a country and protecting our country. We can't ask for much more than that right now," he said.

The ribbons will stay up until President Bush declares an end to hostilities in Iraq, which many expect will occur later this week.

Hanging yellow ribbons first became popular in 1979 and 1980 after American hostages were taken at the American Embassy in Iran. They originally symbolized solidarity with the hostages and their families. The color was chosen from a popular song at the time, entitled, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon ĪRound the Old Oak Tree," written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown.

÷ Daniel Scarpinato contributed to this report