???Chants from protestors rang from the outside of Alumni Arena, igniting a debate between students and community members even before heated words were exchanged by Wesley Clark and Karl Rove on Friday night.
???Protestors accused Rove, President George W. Bush's former senior adviser, of being a war criminal.
???Demonstrators rallied together to sway UB students and those with tickets to the Distinguished Speakers Series debate between retired U.S. General Wesley Clark and Rove from attending the lecture.
???"Rove was part of the White House Iraq Group and directly had his hand in everything since Watergate," said Irene Morrison, a graduate student in the Department of English who was present to protest both of the night's speakers. "Clark is a war criminal in his own right. War criminals aren't distinguished speakers."
???Rove has been at the center of numerous controversies, including the outing of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame and the dismissal of several U.S attorneys. Most of the protestors were concerned with his alleged role in masterminding the sale of the Iraq War to the American people.
???Although the protest centered on Rove, protesters also condemned the Iraq War. This was an issue important to Elea Mihou, executive director for the Western New York Peace Center and a UB alumna who organized the protest with others.
???"[The Iraq War] was illegal under international law; it has cost the lives of over 4,000 U.S. soldiers, and there are 1 million refugees and about 700,000 dead Iraqis," Mihou said. "We're saying as citizens, as taxpayers, as voters, as Americans, stop spending billions of dollars in crashing our economy."
???UB paid Rove $50,000 to speak at the lecture, according to Mihou. Many protestors criticized the university for organizing this debate. Mihou said that the money Rove received for the night is more than the median family income in Buffalo.
???"I find it repulsive the amount of money spent on Rove when that money can be used at the university or in the community. I'd rather see more enlightened individuals like the Dalai Lama," said Joseph Mikoley, a sophomore English major, while participating at the protest.
???Not all demonstrators in attendance were in support of the protest. Matt Krupp, a sophomore classics major, was there to support Rove.
???"[Rove] is hardly a war criminal; he did his duties and supported our troops," Krupp said. "Democrats didn't pass appropriations bills to properly arm our soldiers."
???Several groups joined in the protest united under the Peace, Justice, and Anti-War Coalition of Western New York (PJAW).
???The rally was in full swing with protestors holding picket signs, chanting and handing out anti-Rove fliers to onlookers by 7 p.m., an hour before the debate was scheduled to start. One of the picket signs included a pig's head with a CEO top hat expressing anti-Rove sentiments.
???Rove supporters weren't shy about expressing their views either, brandishing miniature American flags as they argued their points with protestors.
???The UB College Republicans screamed "McCain '08" as they whisked past the protestors on their way into the debate.
???Brad Latone, a senior political science major and president of the College Republicans, remains unconvinced by protesters' arguments.
???"You can blame one person, but 77 senators voted for the war, so if you're going to blame Rove and Bush for the war, you have to blame the Democratic congressmen who voted for the war as well," Latone said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
