Members of the Ames and ISU communities gathered Monday night to discuss the conflict in Iraq in the Memorial Union Monday night.

About 150 people gathered to listen to panelists discuss their thoughts on the war and express their feelings, said Pat Miller, director for the lectures program.

“This is indeed a challenging time,” said President Gregory Geoffroy. “There are a range of emotions that people are experiencing — fear, sympathy and a lot of anger. It is understandable, but we should not allow [those feelings] to overwhelm us.”

Geoffroy said members of the ISU community must remind themselves that they are part of an educational community.

“We must be open to all discussion and opinions. We need to respect all ideas even if the opinions far differ from our own,” Geoffroy said.

Riad Mahayni, Ames City Council member, said he is proud to be an Ames resident because of the diversity Ames possesses.

“We are blessed to be living in Ames, Iowa, a community who values diversity,” he said.

“The secret of our strength is our diversity,” Mahayni, professor of community and regional planning, said. “We know that each of us is different from one another. We also know that we do not all think the same.”

The ability to discuss diverse views is also critical, Mahayni said.

“Our strongest pillar is our ability to talk to each other,” he said. “This dialog allows us to either disagree or agree. We create unity through our diversity.”

Mahayni described the change after September 11 as a global village.

“September 11th changed all of us,” he said. “What affects one affects all. We are a village that is blessed, yet cursed with instant communications — the good, the bad, all in our own family rooms. When you experience something like this you remember that we are in America and we are free to express opinions.”

James McCormick, moderator of the discussion, said the effect of the media is surreal. He described the embedded reporting of the news from Iraq as desensitizing.

After each panelist discussed their views, the members of the audience were given a turn to express their opinions.

Erin Hickok, senior in marketing, was not supportive of the war.

“I have been actively protesting every Wednesday and Sunday,” she said. “I love my freedom and I am so proud to be an American.”

Hickok said she does not believe the war is related to the September 11 attacks.

“To those who associate the war with retaliation of September 11 — after looking at many sources, I haven’t found one piece of evidence to support this idea,” she said.

McCormick, professor and chairman of the political science department, said President Bush’s approval rating is abnormally high compared to other war-time presidents. In the first 18 months of his presidency, he has had the highest popularity rating of a president since the Vietnam War. The normal increase in a president’s approval rating during a national crisis is five percent. However, after September 11, Bush’s approval rating went up 35 percent and has remained at that level, McCormick said.

A candlelight vigil followed the conversation. The Department of Residence is hosting conversations across campus Tuesday afternoon.