Yesterday afternoon's Walk Out against the Iraq War on the College Avenue campus ended peacefully, as there were no altercations or incidents between protesters and police.
"We worked [the Walk Out] last year also and everything was peaceful," said Lt. Kenneth Ackerman of the Rutgers University Police Department. "There are counter, pro-war demonstrators, but as long as they keep their voices and opinions peaceful, everybody seems to be understanding of their right to say what they want to say."
The people who formed the anti-Walk Out group stood behind members of the march, waving American flags with signs reading, "Go Back To Class, Sheep."
Rutgers Against the War member Sumia Ibrahim, a Rutgers College senior, said during the speakers' portion of the rally, she was harassed by an anti-Walk Out protester. Ibrahim said the opposing group moved behind them, holding up their signs, when she was pushed by one of the members.
"At that point, I told a police officer [it wasn't] safe, so they removed everyone from that group from that area and the officer asked me if I wanted to file a complaint," she said. "I'm not going to pursue that, but I don't appreciate them using physical force and shouting racist things. I would appreciate that they peacefully protest. Everybody has the right to protest, and I support their first amendment rights, although I clearly disagree with their message and some of the tactics that they used."
Ackerman said police asked them to leave the area behind the speakers and move to a separate location to prevent any altercations.
"They could have been down in the audience area, but we didn't feel it was safe for them to be behind the stage," he said.
Lt. Paul Tanko of the RUPD said their goal was to ensure safe passage through New Brunswick for all involved in the Walk Out march following the rally.
As for safety precautions the RUPD took yesterday, Ackerman said four officers were assigned to monitor the area around Scott Hall on the College Avenue campus during the protest and several more officers were put on standby in case additional assistance was necessary.
"There was man-power allotted for traffic control and for the safety of the marchers - that was our biggest concern," Sgt. Richard Rowe of the New Brunswick Police Department said.
Rowe said members of the group advised them of their proposed route shortly before they began, so he said if the protesters went on Route 18 they would accommodate them.
But Ackerman said protesters were forbidden from walking on Route 18.
"The whole walk throughout 18 was unexpected," he said. "Well, we anticipated it, but we had asked them not to do that."
Before the march, Executive Director Division of Public Safety Jay Kohl said they did not foresee things getting out of hand. The University's Division of Public Safety works closely with the RUPD, the Department of Transportation Services and Emergency Services to deal with every security concern, according to the Public Safety Web site.
"These safety precautions we're trying to put in place will make sure wherever the students walk, they will be safe and traffic isn't unnecessarily delayed and that it's a peaceful protest," Kohl said. "Route 18 is a dangerous road, and we're going to try to keep it open and make sure nobody gets hurt in this protest trying to make a point."
Rowe said the police were not aware that students would be sitting at intersections and that although traffic was affected by the walk, there were only a few short stoppages at intersections.
Walk Out participant Shawna Wooldridge, a University College senior, said after the rally, the group traveled to Brower Commons on the College Avenue campus, stopped traffic on George Street, marched toward Rockoff Hall in downtown New Brunswick and Douglass campus, then turned around to Route 18 and were eventually told to move by police.
Ackerman said it took police around 20 minutes to stop traffic and move the protesters. He said there were no arrests and overall it was a peaceful event.
