Uploaded: Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001, 10:30 a.m.

Peace vigil at Stanford draws nearly 100

White Plaza alit with candles Tuesday evening

by Adam Levermore-Rich

Close to 100 people gathered at Stanford's White Plaza Tuesday night for a candlelight "peace vigil," in the wake of that morning's terrorist attacks in New York and Virginia.

Rebecca Trotzky-Sirr, an Stanford undergraduate who organized the vigil, led those in attendance in expressing sorrow over the massive loss of life and calling for the U.S. government to avoid shedding more blood in retaliation.

Trotzky-Sirr warned against jumping to conclusions about the identity or ethnicity of the terrorists. "Will people change the way they feel about justice because of terror?" she asked.

Many in the group shared their thoughts on the days events and the possibilities that the coming days hold.

"My first thoughts were of the children," said one woman.

"We must understand the long-range consequences of our actions," said another.

Some in the group criticized American policy in Israel and in other parts of the world, saying it fostered conditions of oppression -- though they stopped short of saying those conditions acted directly as fuel for Tuesday's attacks.

One of the final speakers echoed the sentiments of many in attendance. "My hope is that Americans will walk away at least learning something."