The walk out demonstration, organized by a group of grad/undergrad students, started at the Sun Dial at noon today. Speakers included professors with expertise on the Middle East, Iraq War veterans (IVAW members), and unreserved students (with reps from Lucha and Columbia Coalition Against the War).

At 2 PM, demonstrators surrounded the Alma Mater on Low Steps (hooded and holding electric wires, a painful reminder of the infamous Abu Ghraib photograph), linked arms, and stood silently for fifteen minutes in a nonviolent protest. Under urgent beckoning, administrators rushed by and watched the scene, ready for any sort of commotion that might arise. Meanwhile, a few organizers remained at the table and read out names of the dead in Iraq.

After the "human chain" broke, the crowd trickled back to the Sun Dial and listened to the name reading. Due to the heat from the burning sun, organizers dutifully passed around cups of water (and divestment petitions).