A group gathered before Marquette's Department of Military Science building Friday asking Marquette to stop participating in the Iraq war, which the group views as an "unjust war."

Another group also gathered at the Military Science building in support of the ROTC program's presence on campus.

Go to the story for more detail and video of the protest and counterprotest.,”Gloomy weather didn't dampen the spirits of a group that gathered in front of Marquette's Department of Military Science building Friday asking Marquette to stop participating in the Iraq war, which the group views as an "unjust war."

Patrick Kennelly, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, explained the purpose of the demonstration.

"There just seems to be a definite contradiction between what many people view as an unjust war and Marquette, which is a Jesuit institution, hosting a military science department," Kennelly said, referring to the presence of a Reserve Officers' Training Corps program on campus.

According to Kennelly, the group is requesting that University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild and Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan respond to questions of whether or not the United States is engaged in a just war.

Carrying a banner that said, "Father Wild, is the war in Iraq just?" the group of about 15 people marched to Wild's office, located in O'Hara Hall, 615 N. 11th St., around 1 p.m.

Bob Graf, a Marquette alumnus and participant in the demonstration, said this is definitely a loaded question.

"If their answer is 'yes,' then they are ultimately going against teachings of the Catholic Church," Graf said, referring to Pope John Paul II's and Pope Benedict XVI's criticisms of the war. "But if they say 'no,' how can Marquette justify its participation in the training of military officers?"

According to a statement made by Kennelly after coming out of O'Hara Hall, Wild was downtown in a meeting when the group arrived. University officials said they were unable to speak on Wild's behalf, but told Kennelly he would receive a written response to the question within two weeks.

Another group also gathered at the Military Science building in support of the ROTC program's presence on campus.

Brian Collar, a Marquette graduate student in business, said he helped organize the counterprotest after he found out about the planned action on Tuesday. Collar, along with the 20 to 30 other students who joined him, are not involved in the ROTC program.

"We wanted to be out here to show our fellow students in ROTC that there are definitely people who support them," Collar said, adding that as members of a government entity, the ROTC students were not allowed to be present to defend themselves.

Peter Merkel, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, said he agrees that the ROTC program is a positive part of the campus environment.

"ROTC is a great program that is really important to the people who are in it," Merkel said. "It's good that students are standing up for their friends and fellow classmates who are benefiting from being a part of it."

Diane Henke, a participant in the demonstration against the presence of ROTC on campus, said whatever the outcome, one of the most important things is to help other people begin to think about what their position is as a citizen.

"If you think (the war) is just, we hope that this would prompt you to think about what you base that belief on," Henke said. "However, if you think it's unjust, hopefully this action would cause you to think about how you can express what you believe."

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