A tug-of-war ensued on Friday among a group of six members from Students for a Democratic Society, who pulled to protest the current budget cuts UF is facing as well as costs of funding the Iraq war.
After holding the first demonstration in the Plaza of the Americas, the role-playing students visited other areas of campus like Turlington Plaza and the Reitz Union Food Court. The role-playing students tugged back and forth, fighting for a paper bag with a dollar sign drawn on it placed in the middle of the rope.
Students and workers, tugged against politicians, corporations and the military-industrial complex. An announcer stood by to inform students about current cuts and encourage them to get involved.
"People need to understand what's happening in context with these national issues," said UF senior Skeet Surrency, who organized the protest. "If we want to save education, we need to stop spending money on things that aren't helping people and killing others."
According to Surrency, the war is costing $6 million on paper, although in reality the government is spending over a trillion dollars a year.
He said he thought the money could be better spent on Social Security and education. The tug-of-war stressed a message of pulling funding from the war to give to education.
"We want to engage the student body and fight this together," said UF political science senior and SDS member Tina Steiger.
UF freshman Kathleen Carroll said it was difficult to hear announcements made by the group during the plaza's tug-of-war because of the nearby chanting of Hare Krishna musicians. Still, Carroll said she appreciated the act.
"Their message is important, whether you agree with it or not, but they need to be able to present it well in order for it to have an impact," she said.
