About 1,000 Madison protesters spent Saturday morning outside in the cold to draw publicity for their stance against the threatened war on Iraq.

In a wind chill of two degrees below zero, protesters drummed buckets, danced in the street and waved a plethora of protest signs.

University of Wisconsin sophomore Leah Larsen said she protested because she felt moved to do something visible against the war.

“I don’t want to talk about it; I want to do something about it,” Larsen said. She said the war might be inevitable, but the more people protesters drew together, the more momentum they could build against Bush.

Protest organizer Ben Manski said the demonstration was designed to catch people going into the game; protesters circled the Dayton Street blocks in front of the Kohl Center.

“Shoot hoops, not Iraqis,” read several signs.

Basketball ticket holders had varying reactions to the protesters. Danielle Kischel, a high school student from Wausau, said she was surprised by the large number of protesters at the rally and said she agreed with their cause.

Her friend Kat Jackam said she was not impressed by the protest.

“I don’t think protesting will get anything done,” Jackam said.

University of Wisconsin junior Evelyn Henn said the impact of protesting is unappreciated.

“Some people say this is not going to do anything,” Henn said. “But unless we do something, Bush is not going to know how we feel. So we might as well try, and we have to keep trying.”

Some basketball fans who made it past the protesters into the Kohl Center were annoyed by the demonstration and unsupportive of the cause.

“I don’t agree with them,” high school student Kelly Holzhausen said. “If we don’t bomb Saddam first, he’s gonna bomb us.”

Some protesters wanted to leave a longer-lasting impression on Madison residents. A group of activists from various anti-war groups built a shelter using wood, cardboard, carpet scraps and a large tarp to construct a “refugee camp” for themselves. Approximately 15 protesters slept in the tent Saturday night and planned to remain camped in Library Mall as long as police would allow them.

Freshman Mae Singerman said UW police ordered them to pack up and leave Saturday morning or face $163 fines for camping illegally on campus property. The protesters instead packed up and moved their camp to city property on Library Mall.

UW senior Matt Stoner said the camp is a symbol of the Iraqis the U.S. Army would displace if war began.

“We would like to stay here for weeks to come,” Stoner said. He said they wanted to stay to represent Iraqi refugees who would not be able to return to their homes and to create a more permanent impression of the suffering to come if war began.

“A march is great, but when it’s over, it’s over,” Stoner said.