King Street was the location of one of the 224 nationwide vigils Monday opposing a strike against Syria.
Approximately 30 protesters attended the vigil and some held signs and chanted “no more war.”  

The vigil, held in front of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, was put on by the political action group MoveOn and organized by the local host, Kathryn Dalton.  

Dalton said she thought the event was a success, and that she would like to see political differences resolved through collaboration.

“When we’re one stick, you can easily snap it, but if you bind all of the little sticks together, it’s almost impossible to break,” Dalton said.

The nationwide vigils are an opposition to strikes in Syria, according to moveon.org.  

Russia has initiated a plan through a proposed U.N. resolution that would require Syria to give up its chemical weapons. Obama has asked congress to postpone a previously scheduled vote on authorizing military force against Syria, according to the Associated Press.

Senior and mayoral write-in candidate Jenny Church was one of the protesters.  

Church said the vigil helped create awareness of violence in Syria.

“Syria is a big issue, and I think a lot of people think it doesn’t matter,” Church said.
Church said it was encouraging to get honks and feedback from cars passing the vigil.

She said she would love for more people on campus to follow the events, like Syria, that surround politics.

“I think a lot of students are passionate about these things but they just don’t know about them,” Church said.

Dalton said the first protest she attended was for the Vietnam War.

“I’m trying, and I’ll be trying until I walk myself into a grave, but you [students] have to be aware of what this monster is,” Dalton said. “If I had one message for the students of Appalachian, I’d say fight them. Take the country back. It’s your future. You can turn it around. It’s not too late.”

Story: NICOLE BELLAMY, Intern News Reporter
Photo: JUSTIN PERRY, Photo Editor