The action was coordinated by the Progressive Students Alliance (PSA), a group of about thirty students who have been meeting since the beginning of the year to lead a campus movement against the war.
"The idea behind Wednesday's action was that professors were interested in helping and weren't sure of a role they could play," said Tom Fritzsche '03, who leads the PSA. "Going into Valentine was their idea. Having professors in Valentine is so unusual. It will make students talk about [Iraq], think about it."
Another organizer, Marisol Thomer '03E feels awareness of current events needs to be raised. "The point was basically to encourage students to think about our foreign and military policy. We were worried about the usual apathy here, even when such an important and dangerous action is being taken by the government," said Thomer.
The group distributed fliers outlining "7 Urgent Reasons to Care about War on Iraq."
The reasons included the possible radicalization of Arab nations creating more terrorism, the bombing of civilian populations and the amount of military spending that would be necessary to finance the war.
Students' reactions towards the protest varied widely. "It got my attention a lot more than if they were just students standing there. It opened up discussion," said Jasmine Eucogco '06.
Some students were slightly more critical. "When I walked by that little gauntlet they had set up, I kind of ignored the flyers, and I saw one of my professors there. I know that professors are fair and impartial in terms of academics," said Ian Shin '06. "I know there's still that worry for students about disagreeing-I really think it may have intimidated some students."
Thomer didn't think hunger was any excuse. "People just want to live their lives, and they're not doing anything about this," she said. "But it's worth the price of food."
Thomer also wanted to make it clear that the people protesting held a wide variety of viewpoints. "That's what's impressive about this anti-war group," she said. "We had the usual rabble-rousers among the professors, but others who have never demonstrated like this before are coming out of the woodwork. We're mobilizing ordinary people."
Matt Jones '05, another member of the PSA, said that the group was not trying to force its views on people. "We encourage people to come up to us and argue with us," he said. "As long as they're talking."
Professor of English Judith Frank was one of the professors who participated in the action.
"We were willing to make a spectacle of ourselves to alert people to an incredible danger," said Frank. "But I have no idea how effective it was. It's hard to think of any activism that might work-it seems like the government has everything planned already.
Frank also said that a large amount of the dissent that exists in this country is kept out of the media. "There's an extensive student movement, the Washington protest, but it feels so hard to make any of that heard," she said.
Despite that, Frank said that the action was worthwhile. "We can teach, that we can do at least, even if we don't know how effective it will be. Because if you wait until you know it's effective, nothing will get done."
The PSA is also planning a rally at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday on the Amherst Town Commons with speakers from the five college area and beyond. Earlier this year the PSA organized trips to New York City and Washington, D.C. to attend national anti-war rallies.