NEW YORK ÷ Five New York University students sat inside Sen. Hillary Clinton's New York offices last Thursday and refused to leave for nine hours, asking that she vote against military action in Iraq.

The students made an appointment with Clinton's aides on the premise that they were delivering an anti-war petition with more than 1,000 signatures, which they circulated around the university the week before. However, they refused to leave the offices after Clinton's aides told them she would not sign a statement guaranteeing her vote against military action.

The group left at about 10 p.m., after it was evident Clinton would vote in favor of a resolution being debated in the U.S. Senate. The resolution gives President George W. Bush the power to use military force against Iraq if it does not comply with United Nations demands to get rid of its weapons of mass destruction.

Clinton's aides promised that the senator would meet with the students within the next 30 days, said Jason Rowe, one of the students inside the office. However, they were not given a specific appointment.

The House approved the resolution on Thursday, 296-133, followed by the Senate's approval, 77-23, on Friday.

"She was a coward, plain and simple," Rowe said of Clinton. "She didn't have the courage to vote against the resolution."

Outside the office building at 770 Third Ave., nearly 50 protesters chanted anti-war slogans and held signs, asking passing traffic to "honk for peace."

"We want Hillary Clinton to vote with the people," said Jane Hirschman, an Upper West Side resident and protest organizer.