briefs

U-WIRE) WASHINGTON – A protest on Capitol Hill aimed at curbing war in the Middle East… U-WIRE) WASHINGTON – A protest on Capitol Hill aimed at curbing war in the Middle East was fervent Saturday, but only about 189 people were arrested, according to media reports.

Organizers estimate that 100,000 people participated in the protest.

Though the police officers standing guard around the barricades were armed with riot gear, automatic weapons, body armor and tear gas, most of the arrests occurred without much force or violence in response to protesters trying to jump over the barricades.

“(We want) Congress and the Republicans specifically to wake up and hear that the American people want an end to the war in Iraq now,” said George Washington University junior Cory Struble.

The protest was sponsored by anti-war organization A.N.S.W.E.R.

A march to the Capitol began near the White House in Lafayette Square, where anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and Iraq Veterans Against the War supporter Adam Kokesh spoke to participants before beginning the march.

Kokesh and other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War led the marchers down Pennsylvania Avenue. Marchers clashed with counter-protesters, exchanging taunts and abusive language.

GW sophomore Andrew Hunter recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq with the Army. He participated in Saturday’s counter-protest.

“I’m actually out here to support everybody who’s over there…the cause that we are fighting for right now,” Hunter said. “I don’t believe that people who say they support the troops but don’t support their mission really have a leg to stand on.”

Protesters also staged a “die-in” where participants, including Iraq War veterans, lay flat on the ground to symbolize war casualties.

Representatives from A.N.S.W.E.R. said about 5,000 people took part in the “die-in.”

– Andrew H. Gross, The GW Hatchet

(U-WIRE) LAWRENCE, Kan. – The old Facebook is back. Sort of.

College.com, a social networking site that launched earlier this month, is trying to gain popularity by focusing on only college students. The network combines social life with academics. College.com representatives declined to say how many total students belonged but said the site gets 40,000 hits every day.

Facebook originally let only college students create accounts. In the fall of 2005, it started to let high school students join. Now, anyone can join.

College.com representative Sam Marks said creators and recent Florida State graduates Jason Levine and John Davidman saw Facebook’s decision to allow everyone access as an opportunity to gain success by focusing on only college students. Davidman and Levine already had the domain name and began working to create College.com in October 2006.

“They’ve lost their core market by adding all ages,” said Marks, who graduated from Florida State last semester. “They can have 80-year-olds talking to 14-year-olds. You don’t want people like that checking out your events and stuff.”

Instead of making College.com like other social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, Marks said the Web site will be a “one-stop shop for socializing and the classroom.” He said College.com will be a classroom portal similar to Blackboard. The site wants professors to join so they can upload syllabi, assign homework and communicate information to students.

– Mark Dent, University Daily Kansan