In the third protest against the conflict in Kosovo at Iowa State this year, about 40 people gathered south of the Campanile Friday to express their disapproval of the NATO-sanctioned bombing of Yugoslavia.

The demonstration was organized by the ISU Coalition Against NATO Intervention. The crowd, which mostly consisted of ISU students and faculty, gathered for more than two hours holding protest signs and voicing their opinions via microphone.

“[Yugoslavian President Slobodan] Milosevic must be stopped, but this is not the way,” said Nenad Kostic, one of the guest speakers for the event and professor of chemistry.

Kostic, originally from Yugoslavia, has a personal interest in the war in Kosovo. He said he believes there is an alternative to NATO’s bombings.

“The only solution to stop the escalation of war … [is to] recognize grievances of Serbian and Albanian peoples and stop painting this as the individual badness of Milosevic,” he said. “It’s the conflicting interest of people. We can’t cure any disease if we mislabel it.”

Ed Snook, senior in English; Anne Bunner, sophomore in bio-chemistry; and Jeremy Varner, junior in history, were the members of the ISU Coalition Against NATO Intervention who organized the demonstration.

Snook said he feels strongly about NATO’s involvement in the peace process because of its tactics.

“I realized there are many errors in the peace process. There is something wrong about NATO taking the offensive,” he said. “It’s an obstacle to the peace process rather than an instrument.”

Bunner also said she feels vehemently that the bombing is not right.

“It’s not accomplishing anything,” she said. “There are better solutions.”

Varner said he would support the United Nations’ diplomatic action rather than NATO’s attacks.

“We support the U.N.,” he said. “It would involve the international community, and it would be a diplomatic resolution, not ‘Do what we tell you or we’ll bomb you.'”

Some members of the audience lamented the apathy of the American public toward the conflict.

“I don’t think enough people are aware of what’s happening,” said Jenny Peterson, sophomore in visual studies. “I think too many people in society are too accepting of all of this killing because it happens all the time. It doesn’t have to happen for a change to occur.”

However, Alex Rodeck, sophomore in animal science, showed up at the demonstration to voice his support for NATO’s involvement.

“In any argument there are two sides, and both sides have to be voiced,” he said. “I believe what we’re doing is right, but we need to change our tactics. Bombing alone won’t do it.”

The protest also featured guest speakers Starlene Rankin, coordinator of Ames/ISU Greens; Wayne Osborn, assistant professor of history; and Athanasios Petridis, assistant scientist in physics and astronomy.