Issue date: 4/23/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Andrew Benning / Daily Vidette Staff Javier Grow, a sophomore environmental health major, looks at the "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit on the Quad Tuesday afternoon.

Media Credit: Andrew Benning / Daily Vidette Staff The "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit was put on to show some of the effects of war.

Several student groups came together Tuesday to provide students with an opportunity to see the impact of the war in Iraq on the state of Illinois.

The "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit, provided by the American Friends and Services Committee, featured rows of boots and shoes representing deaths due to the war. The boots represented the number of deaths of Illinois soldiers, while the shoes indicated civilian deaths.

The event was also co-sponsored by Iraq Vets Against the War, the Student Peace Action Network, PRIDE, FLAME, Democracy Matters and the Arabic Student Club.

Members of these groups were armed with t-shirts and signs advocating peace and encouraging people to take a look at the exhibit.

"This doesn't represent a fraction of the people affected by the war," Allison Grosz, senior political science and journalism major and co-president of SPAN, said.

There were 143 pairs of boots lined up on the grass, each containing a tag with the name, rank, age and hometown of each Illinois soldier.

Some boots were donated from citizens, but some belonged to the actual soldiers and were donated by the families.

"These boots belong to moms and dads, aunts and uncles," Lily Fahrenwald, a sophomore general student and co-president of SPAN, said. "They're not just boots, they're people. There should be people standing in those boots."

Some of the boots, generally the ones that belonged to the actual soldiers, contained personal items such as flowers, pictures, dog tags and letters from loved ones.

One pair, belonging to 26-year-old Sgt. Terry Lisk from Fox Lake, had several letters from his niece and daughter attached, simply stating "I love you" with hearts.

Next to the rows of boots was another exhibit featuring shoes representing Iraqi civilians killed in the war.

"It's not the exact number. Obviously we don't have 100,000 pairs of shoes," Grosz said.

These shoes were donated by people who have visited past exhibits.

Despite the strong statement, the goal of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit on campus was not to start controversy.

"We're not bringing as much of an anti-war statement as we are awareness about what's happening," Grosz said. "It shows the repercussions of war and how it affects every aspect of American life."

According to Fahrenwald, $720 million is spent each day on the war in Iraq. She said that same amount of money could pay for healthcare for 163,525 people for a year.

"This is something everyone needs to be aware of," Fahrenwald said.

She also added the national Eyes Wide Open exhibit no longer exists because there have been too many deaths and there is not enough room for that many boots.

Despite their good intentions, there were threats against the prospect of the exhibition appearing on campus, according to Fahrenwald.

A campus police officer was present at the exhibit throughout the day.

"This is a memorial," Fahrenwald said. "We're not trying to make a big stand."

The exhibit was on the Quad from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Students walking to and from class could be seen walking through the rows of boots.

"This is something everyone on campus needs to see," Grosz said. "Sometimes students get so wrapped up in schoolwork that they forget what else is going on in the world."

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