Several students gathered outside the Marine Corps Recruiting Station on Grand River Avenue on Thursday afternoon to protest recruitment tactics used by the military.
Members of the group Direct Action organized the protest, claiming that the military uses deceitful tactics to attract new recruits.
Social relations sophomore Stefan Lanwermeyer participated in the protest and said many enlist in the military for the financial incentive instead of seeking financial aid.
"A lot of people don't understand what is going on —the war doesn't come to college campuses because there isn't a draft," he said. "But they recruit in high schools, it's an issue."
Lanwermeyer said some students are coerced into joining the military.
"A lot of recruiters don't tell the truth, and manipulate and sell the story about what is going to happen and what they are going to get."
During the protest, a separate group of students from Young Americans for Freedom and Spartans Supporting the Troops formed their own protest against Direct Action.
Each group of protesters held signs, chanted and debated their point of view.
Eastern Michigan University sophomore and member of the U.S. Air Force Randy Wood, attended the protest and said he felt Direct Action's protest was a personal attack.
"It makes me feel sad," he said. "They don't seem to understand the only reason they have the right to protest is because members of the military are there willing to defend that right to the death."
Wood also said the military has provided a good career path for people whose options are limited.
"The concept of being pressured into service is laughable," Wood said. "I wanted to serve my country."
No one from the recruitment center came out to speak with either set of protesters.
Marine Sgt. Donald Bohanner, spokesman for the regional Marine recruiting office in Lansing, said recruiters go to events and advertise on television to attract new recruits, and do not use deceitful tactics to get people to sign up.
In response to the protest, Bohanner said it was an exercise of a right the Marines work to protect.
"The U.S. Marines respect the rights of all individuals, that is one of the things we've sworn by the Constitution to fight for," he said. "The protest only confirms that commitment."
Many individuals seek out the Marines themselves because it offers challenges, discipline, fitness and a sense of belonging, Bohanner said.
The action against military recruitment tactics was held as part of Rosa Parks Anniversary National Day of Action Against Poverty, Racism and War, which falls on the 50th anniversary of Parks' arrest for refusing to leave a bus seat so a white man could sit down.
Several other events were organized around the country including rallies and participation in a day of absence, said Mia Cruz, an organizer with the International Action Center in New York.
Cruz said the day was an effort to highlight several injustices that have occurred this year such as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, continuation of the war in Iraq and the status of the economy.
Physiology junior Jessica Fishman participated in the protest today and said although she doesn't agree with the war, she wanted to show support for the troops.
Fishman spoke last night with her brother who is currently stationed in Iraq about the protest. He joined the army 13 years ago to help pay for college and continue a family tradition.
"He told me to go for it," she said. "They really appreciate what students here are doing to let them know they are supportive."
