About 100 students from Knox College in Galesburg, IL gathered together on Monday - some for, and others against Operation Iraqi Freedom but all of them struggling to be heard.

They had very different messages but they shared the same ground.

"History shows what appeasement does," said student Leslie Davis. "I think if we don't stop it now, what's going to happen three years down the road? Fifteen years down the road?".

"I don't seet his war as the best way to support the men and women who are out there," said Theresa Peura.  "I don't think it's in the interest of America or the international community to be involved in this war."

One side carried the Pledge of Allegiance on a banner, the other had a collection of signatures from pretests in Washington DC, Chicago and St. Louis.

"The fact that these protests have some visibility," said Peura, "lets the international community know that it's the American government, not the American people, that support the war."

There were also protests on Monday at the University of Iowa in  Iowa City and in Chicago. All the demonstrations were peaceful although there were several arrests made in Chicago.