Students who want to protest the Persian Gulf War can participate in a speak-out today in the Holmes Student Center.

The speak-out will be held at 11:45 a.m. either in the Pow Wow Room or in the lounge outside the art gallery.

The speak-out is sponsored by the NIU Community for Peace, “a coalition of groups and individuals that has formed in response to the war in Persian Gulf,” said member Tom Rainey.

ainey said the group encourages only those who are against the war to participate. As for those who support the war, “We want to encourage them not to come,” Rainey said.

“The pro-war side has all the sources of the media, including newspapers, to project their side. The anti-war, pro-peace side is not represented in the media,” he said. “We want to do as much as possible to have the voice of peace expressed.”

Speak-puts have been a part of American political movements since the American Revolution, Rainey said. “It’s a way for common people to express themselves,” he said.

NIU Community for Peace met three nights is a row during the first week of the war and now holds weekly meetings on Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the Pow Wow room.

The group might have speak-outs every week: “We want to start having them in the residence halls.”