EMILY REID/Arizona Daily Wildcat Tucsonans turned out en masse on Saturday morning to protest possible war with Iraq. Approximately 1,500 people attended the demonstration, which wound from the UA Mall down East Speedway Boulevard to De Anza Park at North Stone Avenue.

About 1,500 students, professors and Tucsonans gathered outside Old Main on Saturday to march to De Anza Park in protest of the United States' anticipated war on Iraq.

Prominent speakers discussed why the United States shouldn't attack Iraq.

Former Tucson mayor George Miller, director of African American Studies Julian Kunnie, and director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee Mohiedin Abdulaziz, gave anti-war speeches.

Each speech had different overtones, but all showed a strong opposition to the war.

Much of the crowd protested President George W. Bush, whom some called a "murderer." At least one person had a picture of Bush with the words "international terrorist" displayed beside his face.

Students Against Sweatshops and the Progressive Alliance, a cluster of politically leftist student groups, participated in the protest.

"Everyone is pretty against an imminent war on Iraq because they don't believe violence is the solution to any situations the U.S. may be facing," said Sheila Bapat, a Progressive Alliance organizer and political science senior. "Furthermore, giving the president unilateral power is a problem that we really need to talk about."

Dozens of signs read "No blood for oil," and criticized what protesters called the hypocrisy of the U.S. government.

"I don't think we should go to war in Iraq because I don't think that we should be waging war on a country that is sovereign and we shouldn't be trying to work around an international framework that supposedly the United States recognizes," said Classics graduate student Mark Rivera.

Twenty-three groups from across Tucson came together on campus. Planners said they spent more than $1,000 to promote the event, which was planned long before Congress' recent vote giving Bush authority to use force against Iraq.

"We feel that war is a horrible thing," said Joe Bernick, one of the coordinators with the Tucson Peace Action Coalition, which organized the event. "It causes a lot of misery and death and it should be a last resort if at all. Iraq is not a threat to the U.S. and there are all kinds of avenues to diplomacy."

Organizers said they want to refocus attention on America.

"Let's stop turning to war to solve our problems and turn to healthcare, education, civil rights and filling in the potholes in the street," said James Jordan, another coordinator of the event. "There's so much to do in this country to make it what it should be. We want to make America strong and we don't think you do that by being the policeman to the world."

After gathering at Old Main and listening to speakers from Students Against Sweatshops and the Nuclear Resistors, the group marched down North Speedway Boulevard to North Stone Avenue, where the rally took place.

Once the rally reached the park, it began. Several groups had information about their causes. Some handed out materials for political candidates. There were tables of metal bins of food to feed protesters.

Organizers were very pleased with the turnout at the event. They had expected 1,000 people.

"I thought the rally was a testament to the support that the anti-war movement has," Rivera said. "I don't think you see people organizing on behalf of war. People are coming out to support an anti-war position, but they're not going to rallies to support war."