Peace awareness is on the minds of several Missouri Southern students.

Colt Syne, freshman computer science major, is organizing a peace club on campus.

“Education is a big part, really voicing the idea that there are a lot of people against the war,” Syne said.

He said the group is designed to make students around campus aware of current conditions around the globe. Syne said he has had success letting people know about the group through fliers and word of mouth.

Syne said the members of the club did not start the club because of the current conditions.

“This isn’t just for Iraq,” Syne said. “This is for peace in general.”

He said there are wars going on in places few people hear about in the news.

“There are other ways to settle things,” said Michelle Yipé, senior history major and member of the group.

Yipé disagrees with the current actions the government is taking on the terrorism issue.

“It’s another way to get revenge,” she said. “He’s (President Bush) is giving us a scapegoat basically. I think we could have gotten them another way.”

Yipé and Syne both said they were pacifists, but that they are the minorities of the group.

There are several instructors who support the group as well.

“I’m very enthusiastic about having students become more active in the movement that is growing across the country,” said Dr. Joy Dworkin, associate professor of English.

Dworkin helped Syne and other members to come together to form a group. She said she has talked to several students who are eager to be involved.

“One of the reasons students in the past have been involved [in the peace movement is] because of the direct impact on them,” Dworkin said.

Part of the new club’s constitution that was adapted during its first meeting on Feb. 1 states the club will not have any elected officials.

The group plans to hold rallies, possible concerts, and many other events to get more students involved. Meetings are 1 p.m. every Saturday, but are subject to change after the second meeting. The club meets in the coffee shop downstairs in the Spiva Library.