They called themselves the “silent majority.”

Kevin Garner and Leo Khayet said they were convinced most Americans want to see military action against Iraq — even though the most outspoken voices have been opposed to war.

So Garner and Khayet, both Kansas University students, went to a campus peace rally Thursday with a mission: To balance out the public debate on war.

“War is not killing other people,” Garner said. “War is liberating the people of Iraq.”

The pro-war contingent of about six students was dwarfed by about 75 peace advocates at the event, which was organized by the campus group Students for Peace.

The crowd outside Wescoe Hall numbered about 200 people shortly after the rally began at 11 a.m., but many were observers from classes dismissed so students could be at the rally.

The event had been scheduled for Wednesday, to coincide with the national “Books Not Bombs National Student Strike Against the War with Iraq,” which drew thousands of students out of classes throughout the nation. But local organizers postponed the event until Thursday because of Wednesday’s cold. Still, about a dozen protesters gathered Wednesday at Wescoe Beach.

Temperatures hovered in the lower 20s at midday Thursday, and organizers ended the rally after 1 1/2 hours, instead of continuing for the scheduled two hours. They also called off plans to form a giant human peace sign outside Fraser Hall.

Shortly after the pro-peace chanting began, the group of pro-war activists began shouting questions and comments to the speakers who stood on concrete planters on Wescoe Beach.

Kansas University sophomore David Titterington, center, of Prairie Village, raises an antiwar sign during a demonstration on Wescoe Beach. About 200 students, a majority of whom were against war, rallied Thursday at KU.

“You guys are protesting for peace,” Khayet said. “Do you realize you’re supporting a regime where (protesting) wouldn’t be allowed?”

Garner, a freshman from Kansas City, Mo., said he thought military action in Iraq would lead to worldwide peace in the future.

“War is a last option, but we’re running out of options,” he said. “As long as (Saddam) is in power, he’ll continue to massacre his own people and support the genocide of people around the world.”

Some of the antiwar protesters held signs: “Let Inspections Work,” “War is Murder” and “I Apologize for America.”

“We’re not creating peace (by attacking),” said Ethan Nuss, a freshman from Salina. “All we’re creating is more terror. Does it make any sense to attack them and provoke them to use their weapons?”

Tyler Longpine, a junior from Hays and a rally organizer, said he supported the pro-war faction’s decision to come to the rally.

¢ 6News video: KU students stage peace protest¢ 6News video: President Bush is willing to go it alone in Iraq¢ Bush says permission not needed for force¢ Bracing for war: Anxieties gather at home¢Join the discussion¢White House¢Pentagon

“I think it’s cool,” he said. “The dialogue is the most productive thing to come from this. I was disappointed that instead of going up to the microphone and talking, they decided to stand at the back and heckle.”

Though the rally was billed as a student walkout, it was unclear how many students left classes to attend. At least one instructor, Scott Harris, let his class out to attend the rally.

But Harris wasn’t advocating peace or war — he just wanted the students in his “Rhetoric and Social Communication” class to view the discussions as a class project.

“We tend to use a lot of examples from the civil rights movement, and a lot of students can’t relate to them,” Harris said. “This seemed like an appropriate project.”