Armed forces honored at Conservative Week event

Soldiers stood at ease in the Student Union Flag Room on Thursday, shaking students' hands and talking about their experiences in the U.S. military.

The event wasn't set up for soldiers to approach students about joining the military, but rather for students to approach the soldiers and thank them.

"We need to support the troops," said Bryan Litz, a freshman business administration major. "We need as much help as possible in our own country without spreading our forces too thin."

Organized to honor members of the military, Support Our Troops Day came to UB Thursday as the penultimate event in the College Republicans' Conservative Week.

Representatives of both the Army and Navy were present during the day, greeting students and talking about their military experiences. Tables were also set up with pamphlets, key chains and other various memorabilia provided by the military.

The event gave students the opportunity to mail postcards to soldiers to thank them for their service, or send a donation to a soldier that might be in financial need.

Dan Hatem, secretary of the College Republicans, said he saw the event as an opportunity to pay homage to the people who serve and protect our country.

"This is our way of giving back to the troops who serve us," said Hatem, a sophomore political science major. "This is not an issue of parties, but an issue of supporting our soldiers."

Sean Weppner, sophomore biology major, said troops need to know they have support at home.

"I am for the war," said Weppner, a co-chair of Conservative Week. "Regardless if people agree or disagree, there are soldiers over there fighting for us and they deserve our support."

At the start of Conservative Week, event organizers said Support Our Troops Day was one of the events they were truly excited about bringing to campus. Earlier in the week, the student group held bake sales for arms and Social Security in the Student Union and in front of the Center for the Arts.

Club members said they have been satisfied with student turnout and look forward to the rest of Conservative Week.

"Overall, this week has been very successful," said Michael Scholes, vice president of the College Republicans. "We have had a very good turnout at our events."

Weppner said he sees these events as a way of allowing the group's beliefs to be heard on campus.

"Apathy is one of the biggest epidemics we deal with in society," Weppner said. We want people to think about the issues that we bring out this week."

To finish Conservative Week, the College Republicans will be holding an "Animal Rights Barbecue" on Friday outside of the Student Union. There will also be a "Pie a Republican" fundraiser in which students can buy a pie to throw in the face of one of the College Republicans.