a href=”https://www.dailyegyptian.com/contactus.html”bDE Staff Reporter/b/abrspan class=”realsmall”bDaily Egyptian/b/span

Women do not just want to be “pretty in pink” anymore.

Pink means something much more significant for thousands of people who wear the color as a symbolic stance against the war in Iraq.

Pink is for peace.

Code Pink:Women’s Preemptive Strike for Peace is a national movement against the war in Iraq that has spread from Washington, D.C. to New York to Los Angeles and now to Carbondale.

Carbondale community members have the chance to wear pink in protest from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the northwest corner of the Federal Building.

The Carbondale “Code Pink for peace” vigil started Friday and will last until the war is over.

About 15 protesters participated in the rally Monday as traffic sped by on Illinois 51 South.

Celeste Williams from Murphysboro was out protesting the war wearing a pink shawl and holding a pink sign.

“We see war as a women’s issue,” Williams said. “We want to empower women to stand up against war.”

She was one of the coordinators for the Carbondale chapter of “Code Pink for peace.” She brought several hand-made signs to pass out to protesters who had not brought their own.

Joe Hassert, a senior in speech communication from Romeoville, has been to several of the protests in Carbondale and sees them as a way to let people know there are people who disagree with the war.

“Peace is a possible thought to have,” Hassert said. “We want people to know that it is appropriate to have these thoughts.”

Suzanne Daughton, a professor in speech communication, has been out protesting in pink two times since the event started. She read about the movement in several magazines and was excited to see it move to Carbondale.

“As a woman and as a feminist, I think we need to find a better way to resolve conflicts,” Daughton said.

Started in November by a woman named Medea Benjamin, the Code Pink movement is meant to send a call for compassion and nurturing life in opposition to President Bush’s red military response.

Benjamin joined feminist author Starhawk and Jodie Evans of UnReasonable Women to oppose war in Iraq from a feminist perspective. Code Pink’s four-month long vigil at the White House ended on March 8, International Women’s Day.

Jennifer Kellham, a senior in psychology from Glendale Heights, said that she plans to be out protesting every day until the war is over.

She also plans to wear pink and black every day as well.

“Black is a sign of mourning for the loss of our soldiers and loss of the people in Iraq,” Kellham said. ” We support our troops and we want them to come home safely.”

Reporter Kristina Dailing can be reached at [email protected]