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34 The GUIDE to YELLOW SPRINGS 2019 – 20 YELLOW SPRINGS NEWS BENT I NO’S BE Pizza o f Y e l l o w S p r i n g s DINE IN • CARRY OUT Fri & Sat: 11 am–11 pm Sun–Thurs: 11 am–10 pm 107 ½ Xenia Ave. 767-2500 CALZONES•BREAD STICKS PASTA•WINGS •HOAGIES HAND-TOSSED AND THIN CRUST PIZZA•SALADS•GYROS DELIVERY 7 DAYS A WEEK — 11 am–1 pm & 5 pm–close This article includes excerpts from stories published in March 2003 and written by Diane Chiddister and Lauren Heaton. I t was a beautiful, warm Sunday, and downtown Yellow Springs hummed with life. It looked like a typical early spring day, but it was not. Thousands of miles away, the United States government was dropping bombs on Iraq, and, when asked if the war affected their lives, about 30 local residents quickly shifted gears from their first-day-of-spring mode and described themselves as angry, depressed or anxious. “I’m very disturbed by it,” said Muriel OPPOSITION TO THE U. S . -LED ATTACK ON IRAQ— Locals respond to Iraq War PHOTO BY DENNIE EAGLESON A full-page ad in the YS News included this picture of villagers assembled on the Gaunt Park hill on Saturday, March 15, 2003. "NO WAR IN IRAQ!" the advertisement read. "Not In Our Name will you invade countries, bomb civilians, kill more children ... endanger the world's environment and people ... shed blood for oil ... erode the very freedoms that you claim to fight for." It was signed by 537 people and paid for by "Yellow Springs for Peace." Meray, local business owner and artist. “It’s springtime and I feel there’s a cloud over the spring. It’s the war.” Meray said she views the war as immoral, and feels troubled that “I know people are suffering, especially women and children.” Mark Crockett, a member of the Miami Township Board of Trustees and a local busi- ness owner, said the war has made him “feel pessimistic about the future.” “I oppose the war totally, from an eco- nomic, social and moral perspective, on all levels,” he said. Rosemary Bailey, a speech therapist, said she still feels disturbed by what she sees as President Bush’s manipulation of the Ameri - can public, especially his repeated linking of Saddam Hussein with the Sept. 11 trag- edy. “There was never a direct connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda,” she said. “I consider this war an act of terrorism,” she said. “I feel a lot of anger toward Bush and anger that those who oppose the war are considered unpatriotic.” Victor Ayoub, retired professor of anthro - pology at Antioch College, traveled to Iraq several times and lived in Jordan for five years during the early 1990s. His opinion of this war is shaped by those experiences, Ayoub said. “I know the anxiety people in Jordan felt over the first Gulf War, and I feel a terrible sense of frustration on their behalf,” said Ayoub. He said he also feels betrayed by the Bush administration because “the U.S. government has lied. In a democracy, that shouldn’t be.” Many said they were concerned for the safety of American troops. “I’m not happy about it. Knowing that there are young kids put in peril bothers me considerably,” said Chuck Buster, who is the father of two sons. Along with concern for the American troops, many villagers cited their concern for the Iraqi people. Earlier in the month, a significant number of students from Yellow Springs High School, McKinney Middle School and Antioch Col - lege marched through the cold to oppose U.S. actions toward war in Iraq. An estimated 75 to 100 middle school and high school students walked out of