Many might have been sitting in class, annoyed at the protestors, shaking their heads at the loud voices that echoed into lecture halls and classrooms from the Quad. Don't shake your head. This is really happening. People are dying in this conflict, being shot down by police, killing each other in order to stake their claim to grounds that both Jews and Muslims feel are essential to their own religions. After what seemed to be promising peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat all but fell flat, the political situation involving the holy lands isn't improving.
Negotiations continue halfheartedly, and people continue to die.
They want to see this destruction come to an end. And that's why students are out on the Quad. It doesn't matter if we fall on one end of the spectrum or another, or don't really have an opinion on the situation in the Middle East right now. The protestors on the Quad deserve our respect. Whatever cause we choose to support, we want people to listen to what we have to say.