Rep. Leonard Boswell wasn't in his office at 3:30 p.m. Friday when 22 Des
Moines-area high school students showed up to ask him to bring troops home from
Iraq, but they sat down anyway.
They said they would wait until district
representative Ted Tran could get Boswell, an Iowa Democrat, on the phone or
until the office closed at 5 p.m.
"It's time for people to see we have a
voice, too," said Dave Kelley, 18, of Windsor Heights, who was one of several
students in the group prepared to stay if authorities told them to leave.
While his friends were starting their weekends, Kelley was ready to face time
behind bars.
"Anyone can sit-in, but people really pay attention if you
go beyond that point," he said.
This was the second governmental office
occupation for the Des Moines-based, nonpartisan advocacy group Students Beyond
War. The group's first sit-in was in September in the office of Sen. Charles
Grassley, an Iowa Republican. It resulted in the arrests of six participants,
four of whom were students.
Amid the ringing of phones and occasional glances from passing people, the
group took turns reading a list of names belonging to those killed while serving
in the Iraq war.
And they waited, discussing what they wanted to say to
Boswell if indeed they were able to speak with him.
They waited until
4:30 p.m., when Tran came to tell them to be ready when Boswell called on his
cell phone while on his way back from a meeting in Sigourney.
Ames High
School senior Bobby Hunter spoke with the congressman on behalf of the
group:
"We just wanted to know what your future intentions are on such bills dealing
with the funding of the Iraq war and the withdrawal of troops."
Boswell
began by welcoming the group and thanked them for their concern with the war in
Iraq.
"I advocate for an orderly plan," said Boswell. "In the last year
or so, I've voted five or six times for that."
During the 15-minute phone
conversation, Boswell told the group that he is concerned with bringing troops
home, but in an orderly fashion. He referenced his own experience in the Vietnam
War when the group asked him not to support any bill that would fund the current
war.
"I am not going to leave (troops) over there without the required things to
keep them safe," said Boswell. "Don't ask me to stop doing that."
Hunter
questioned Boswell's support of House Resolution 2206, presented to the chamber
on May 10, 2007, because it included an increase in funding to continue military
occupation of Iraq.
Boswell said he didn't have the paperwork with him as
he was traveling, but assured the group the bills he voted for this year were
for the withdrawal of troops.
In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Boswell said he had no
indication the students would be showing up in protest Friday afternoon, but
said he welcomed them and their concern with political issues.
The
students huddled after the phone call to decide their next move. They decided on
a compromise.
"No one is going to get arrested because that's just being
stubborn; we don't want to do it just to get attention," said protester Nick
Miller, 18, of Des Moines. "We were hoping for a more concrete promise, but he
did allude to the fact that we did have his word, which is enough for us."
Reporter Molly Hottle can be reached at (515) 284-8065 or mhottle@dmreg.com.