Three UNM students were cited for obstruction and failure to obey a police officer Wednesday during an anti-war protest at UNM as students and others rallied against the impending war with Iraq.
Police said about 100 people from a crowd of about 500 blocked Central Avenue, the city's main street that runs in front of campus, for about half an hour.
The students cited by Albuquerque Police Department officers, included Zacarius Carlson, a senior majoring in University Studies.
"It got out of hand, but I think the police took the situation too far," Carlson said. "I have no regrets, I stood up for what I believe in."
Albuquerque police spokesman Det. Jeff Arbogast, said the police role at the event was to make sure the crowd protested in an orderly fashion.
"There were a few instigators, trying to get people against the police, but overall it went very well," Arbogast said.
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The rally was part of a nationwide movement at high school and college campuses intended to call attention to what protesters say are the effects of a war on education, health care and the economy.
Students from Highland High School, Freedom High School and the Public Academy for Performing Arts also attended the rally, even though some faced threats of being expelled.
"It was a success," said Siobhun Asgharzadeh, a member of Earth Food and the Student Alliance for Progress. "It was an amazing way for students to gather in solidarity. We proved our point that UNM students are against war."
The protesters marched through classroom buildings, opening doors and urging students in classes to join them. They also protested in front of the school's ROTC building, University House and at the Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies, chanting, "Keep war research off our campus."
Sophomore Antoinette Murphy, a 19-year-old pre-med major, said she thinks the rally and others like it across the country can lead to positive changes in the Bush administration.
"I will not support Bush," Murphy said. "I will keep protesting until my voice is heard. One voice can make a difference."
Murphy, who has a 13-month-old son, Charles, said, "I'd rather have my son go to jail than go to war."
Judith Binder, 68, and Milton Bock, 73, carried a sign that read: "Regime change begins at home."
Binder said she was there to support the students' right to express their views.
"It's important that the freedom to protest must be kept an American tradition," said Binder, a retired technical editor of the UNM College of Engineering. "I'm proud of these young people."
Adriana Nieto, a graduate student and teaching assistant in the Women Studies Department, said that the protest was a wonderful thing and that she had cancelled her class to attend.
"I encouraged my students to attend," Nieto said.
Jennifer Alvarez Dickinson, a graduate student in the American Studies Department, said that while the rally was a positive step in the right direction, she believes the time for protesting may have passed.
"It was a great thing, but I think it was a little too late," Alvarez Dickinson said.
