A small group of individuals stood along the sidewalk on Forbes Avenue, silently bearing… A small group of individuals stood along the sidewalk on Forbes Avenue, silently bearing placards while two of their members beat on plastic barrels improvised as drums.

“You can’t be all that you can be if you’re dead,” one sign read.

Another read, “Recruiters are NOT telling you the truth.”

Community organizations led an anti-war recruitment demonstration at 11 a.m. Friday as a part of National Stand Down Day – a day devoted to protest against military recruitment offices.

The demonstrators have become a familiar sight in front of the Army recruitment center on Forbes Avenue. On Friday, they received mixed responses.

They were met with honks and shouts of approval as well as angry remarks from pedestrians and motorists alike.

The group hoped to bring attention to the office’s location.

“We’ve been coming here every two weeks for the past couple of weeks,” Lillian Smith said. “This office is the central recruiting station for Pittsburgh. We wanted to bring attention to the fact that this office is here in Oakland.”