Students from Marquette will join thousands gathering at Fort Benning, Ga., this weekend in an annual protest of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, which detractors still refer to as the School of the Americas.

More than 16,000 people, including high school and college students, are expected to participate in this weekend's two-day rally, said Christy Pardew, a spokeswoman for the School of the Americas Watch.

The School of the Americas was originally established in Panama in 1946 as a combat training facility for soldiers from Latin American countries.

"WHINSEC is a military education facility and a part of the Department of Defense," said WHINSEC public affairs officer Lee Rials. "Courses taught at the institute include counter-drug operations, medical assistance, cadet leadership and other matters that the Secretary of State determines appropriate."

Detractors, however, say it has a more sinister mission.

The School of Americas closed in December 2000, and WHINSEC opened in January 2001.

Seven hundred training manuals distributed by the CIA when the organization was still referred to as the School of the Americas, and recovered when WHINSEC opened shortly after, outline various methods of torture, extortion and execution, according to Pardew.

"In the United States there is a clear line between police and the military," Pardew said. WHINSEC/SOA graduates "are not protecting their borders, so what are they receiving training for?"

There were seven types of manuals created by a U.S. army unit, four of which were brought to the institute by an instructor, Rials said. He declined to name the unit or elaborate further. The manuals were made public in 1996.

According to Pardew, WHINSEC graduates in Guatemala last year provided a clear illustration of the oppression methods taught.

People protesting the passage of the contentious Central American Free Trade agreement surrounded the capital building in Guatemala City to voice their opposition to the agreement. The president called in the military, some of whose members had allegedly were trained at the school. The military then tear-gassed the crowd so the agreement could be passed with less visible protest.

The SOA Watch has participated in an annual vigil and fast at Ft. Benning to encourage the closure of the SOA, and now WHINSEC, since 1989.

In years past, protesters have practiced civil disobedience for crossing onto the military base, where free speech is not protected, Pardew said.

According to Pardew, 180 people have served time in federal prison for such acts of civil disobedience.

Grandmothers for Peace International has supported the cause since 1994.

"This is not only a religious issue, but a peace and justice issue," said Lorraine Krofchok, director of Grandmothers for Peace International. "Graduates of the SOA destabilize their areas and control people with military force."

Members from Pax Christi USA, an organization made up of religious and lay people working together for peace and justice issues, will also attend the protest.

"We are working to put an end to the violence," said Johnny Zokovitch, communications director for Pax Christi USA. "This is a training ground for soldiers to oppress their people in their countries. It is a major structural player in violence."

The organization will be hosting an event Friday night in honor of four U.S. church women who were killed by SOA graduates in El Salvador 25 years ago.

"It will honor the leadership of different religious women who have worked for the peace and justice movement," Zokovitch said.

The institute will host an open house this Saturday, Rials said.

"We are open and anyone can see what happens here," he said.

Rials said accusations from critics of SOA fail to refer to a specific course or text that advocates physical violence.

"Not to say the manuals are great, but they can have any effect on anybody," Rials said.

"These authoritative accusations are coming from people who have not provided one single example of people who have later used information obtained here to commit crimes," Rials said.

Rials said he has a problem with the term "graduates" of SOA being used because students will only take one or two courses at the institute and then return to their country.

"Would you call someone who only took classes at Marquette for one semester a graduate of Marquette?" he asked.

Within a year, the institute hosts between 700 and 900 students. Rials said 15 students graduated Wednesday.