To oppose President George Bush’s “drive to war,” members of NIU’s Marxist-Humanist Forum will join other coalitions for an anti-war demonstration in Chicago this weekend.

The gathering will be a giant coalition with a number of different views on how to stop the possible war, said Forum member Julie Stege.

Members say they hope enough people will take part in the anti-war movement to stop the Gulf crisis.

“We think that if a strong movement takes off we can stop the war,” said member Tom Rainey.

The primary focus of the march is to oppose “Bush’s drive to war,” Rainey said, calling the possible conflict a war between two capitalist gangsters—Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Bush.

The Marxist-Humanist Forum is car pooling to Chicago’s Daley Plaza, where the rally begins at 10 a.m. To get a seat in the car pool, interested people should call Rainey at 756-6613 as soon as possible, he said.

Stege believes the march is beneficial to everyone. “It’s in our best interest to stop the war. It helps us to know each other and our relationship to the anti-war movement,” she said.

Because of growing anti-war sentiments, membership of the Marxist-Humanist Forum is climbing, Rainey said. The situation is forcing people to the point where they have to choose what side they’re on, he said.

“We’ve had a table every week and we’ve seen a climb,” Rainey said. “Many are interested in developing that vision of a new society where there won’t be war and people’s lives are valued over things like oil. We feel that differs us from others.”

He added that the Marxist-Humanists are interested in a dialogue with other people fighting for freedom and that President Bush is the enemy.

“It looks like Bush is determined to go to war for oil and establish U.S. world domination,” he said.

The Marxist-Humanist Forum was formed two years ago and is a national committee. There is no hierarchy and everyone speaks for the organization, Rainey said.

Future plans for the forum include a program in January on the crisis in the Middle East.

“Right now, a crisis like this (in the Middle East) challenges people to dig into a philosophy of freedom and revolution,” Rainey said.