About 50 people marched to MSU's Cowles House on Wednesday to protest MSU President M. Peter McPherson's role as an economic advisor in the U.S.-occupied Iraq.

The protesters, who were made up of students and nonstudents alike, carried large banners and beat on plastic buckets while saying things such as "no peace, no justice" and "step back out of Iraq."

The march set out from East Lansing's Fountain Square Plaza, directly in front of the Marriott Hotel on M.A.C. Avenue, at around 3 p.m. Marchers reached Cowles House, McPherson's official campus residence, at about 4 p.m.

Upon arriving at the house, demonstrators tossed red streamers onto the roof and among bushes and trees. The protest also included several speakers who voiced their disgust at McPherson's activities in the Middle East for about a half an hour.

Amy Field, one of the protest organizers and a main speaker at the event, said McPherson shouldn't support the United States' position in Iraq.

"We want to inform people that McPherson is economically in charge of the imperialism in Iraq," she said, holding a bullhorn used to lead chants. "We'll call for a campus-wide revolution that is long overdue."

Field said the protest was organized by Direct Action, an off-campus group "dedicated to fighting for democracy while combating poverty and inequality" that has held several area protests against the war in Iraq.

"We're working to empower the students and get the momentum going again," she said, adding that the protest took a month to plan.

Sara Doherty, another protester, said people need to realize what's happening in the Middle East.

"People seem to have forgotten that we're in Iraq," she said. "It's like they don't remember there was a war."

Although one MSU police officer was present at the protest, no arrests were made and no citations were issued. Instead, the officer and several other people stayed to pick up the debris left by the demonstrators once they departed.

University spokesman Terry Denbow said the protesters had every right to voice their opinions.

"This is a marketplace of ideas and we have a very strong commitment to the concept of dissent without disruption," he said. "It's inherent in a university's role in society."

Denbow added that McPherson would approve of the protest.

"McPherson has been one of the most articulate advocates for expressing points of view," he said. "He would love to engage them in discussion."