The College Greens led other students on campus to the UNM Board of Regents' meeting Tuesday chanting, "We don't pay tuition for no Lockheed ammunition."
The rally was organized in opposition to the war in Iraq, but more specifically to oppose weapons research on campus, said Trey Smith, co-chairman of the College Greens, the UNM student group that organized the event.
"If they're going to accept more and more Defense Department contracts, then they do not need to increase tuition as well," Smith said.
Greg Mello, founder of the Los Alamos Study Group, said students need to step up to the plate when put face to face with issues concerning tuition and weapons research.
"This tuition increase is leaving the state broke because this state has committed its leadership to the military," Mello said.
New Mexico is well known for its weapons research, which the University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Air Force's Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories contribute to.
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"UNM is part of the whole system that is proliferating these weapons by adding more research, which is harming our view to the community," Smith said.
University of California-Santa Barbara student Darwin BondGraham said in the scientific world, it is prestigious to have a grant from the National Science Foundation, but receiving grants from the Defense Department is not.
"I can't imagine that people would be proud of researching these kinds of weapons," BondGraham said. "I am a patriot, and I affirm the law that all weapons of mass destruction are wrong."
While the war in Iraq continues, Smith said UNM students need to take an active role in what happens on campus.
As of Tuesday, the death toll for the war in Iraq was 681. The rally intended to get people to oppose the war, but it also received some praise for the war in Iraq.
Mike Davenport, UNM staff member, said he supports Bush and the war.
"If he kills my enemy, I'm all for him," he said. "There are six billion people in this world. Let's be a little more selective on who can stay around."
Davenport said he feels much safer at night knowing there are F-16s flying overhead, and the United States has the right to be judgmental of other countries. He said history has shown that freedom is secured through bloodshed.
"Freedom is built on blood and death," he said. "That is what it takes."
Although the rally did not draw a big crowd to the cactus garden on the west side of Zimmerman Library, many students stopped by to speak with activists at the event.
Smith said not many people know about the research that takes place on campus and the members' goal was to try and raise awareness at the rally.
He said when compared to other places, Albuquerque is too involved in researching weapons of mass destruction.
"None of us should be unaware of that," Smith said.
