[Note: This article has been updated to include different estimates of the number of participants in Saturday's demonstration. For more about this, see comments below.]

THE AERIAL VIEW had to have been breath-taking: an estimated 10,000 people forming a disorganized rainbow, our muscles pulsing with the weight of PVC pipes and sticks, holding up signs and banners that spoke in a volume as loud as our voices, all saying different words for one — peace.

Junior Annie Machesky marches in Chicago. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

At around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, a group of C-U residents piled into three rented vans with several signs, one large banner, and several white wooden doves held up by sticks.

Besides me, the group included seven other Uni students: senior Shara Esbenshade; juniors Clement Dossin, Annie Machesky, and Jessica Stewart; sophomores Alexx Engles and Cheyenne Stewart; and freshman Lily Smith.

Then we began the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Chicago, where we took part in an anti-war protest that drew demonstrators from eight Midwestern states. Estimates of the number of participants ranged from 5,000 (according to police) to 30,000 (according to organizers).

Chicago was one of 11 cities around the country where regional peace protests took place, organized by United for Peace and Justice. Organizers estimated that at least 100,000 people took part nationwide.

For us, a day of rallies, speeches, and a march began at Union Park, wound through the Loop, and ended at Federal Plaza.

People of all ages called upon the government and fellow citizens to put an end to the war in Iraq (this being its fifth year of conflict) and to resist going to war with Iran.

The plea for peace was strong within the eyes of many who went all-out and eccentrically fashioned themselves to get their message across.

There were women dressed all in pink who held signs reading “Women say no more war”; a woman dressed up as a human-sized peace sign; and three young men dressed in prison garb and wearing large masks over their heads, displaying the faces of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, and President George W. Bush.

The passion people had for the cause as well as the craving to be heard by the government was tangible. The turnout was considerably larger than any other protest that most of us had been to.

The march itself was about 3.5 miles long and perhaps the most moving event of the day. All the protesters walked together slowly, a current of communal thoughts and movements flowing throughout the chilly Chicago air.

The only thing that seemed to hide that day was sun, which occasionally slipped behind the clouds, causing us to shiver.

As we marched, hair dressers walked up to the windows of their salons and stood solemnly, presenting us with peace signs and support, children pressed their fingers against windows from apartment buildings, people lined up on rooftops and looked down at us excitedly, and an old woman waved a miniature American flag from her window, staring down at the moving crowd.

A few people biked slowly along with us, stereos resting on wagons attached to their bicycles. When John Lennon’s famous song “Imagine” blasted from the speakers, the whole crowd started to sing the song, and a myriad of pitches blended quite powerfully, making us forget about our aching legs and pink cheeks.

Protesters agreed that, especially given the nationwide scale of the demonstrations, that someone would have to listen.

“Presidential candidates are going to have to step up to the plate and recognize that there are hundreds of thousands of votes that can easily be lost by supporting the violence and the destruction brought on by war," said Smith.

Added Esbenshade: “I know this is not going to make the war end, but each and every protest like this makes the movement grow. It impacted me and everybody who marched in it, reminding us that we are the majority and that it is up to us and us alone to end this war. I hope everyone left that march with the intention of getting more involved."

The overall tone of the protest was extremely positive, and police seemed fairly respectful of the protestors and vice-versa.

Speakers were energetic and passionate. However, Dossin wished that some of the protesters and speakers had been more careful about not combining religious and political elements.

“[There was a] sign trying to justify the wrongdoing of the war using a Bible citation," he said. "I hated that. Religion and politics are two very different things, and I think no connection should be made between them."

Besides that element, Dossin, a native of France, found the protest to be “very cool” and hoped, like the rest of us, that it would aid in ending the current war and avoid future ones.

The events were wrapped up with several speeches at Federal Plaza. Protesters were exhausted but celebratory as we convened in the plaza.

A large group of youth danced energetically, blasting a collage of random notes from trumpets and offbeat drum rolls, some holding signs that read “War sucks, let’s party.”

Finally, our group of C-U residents managed to walk a little bit more to find some dinner and then climb into our vans and drive home.

MORE PHOTOS: CHICAGO ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATION

Sisters Jessica (center) and Cheyenne Stewart (right) were happy to protest. Jessica is a Uni junior; Cheyenne is a sophomore. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

More protesters from Champaign-Urbana make their voices heard. Sindha Agha is at left. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

The demonstrators make their way through downtown Chicago. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Engles (left) and Cheyenne Stewart (center) march. Behind Stewart is junior Annie Machesky. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

A view of just some of the signs on display. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Senior Shara Esbenshade, left, and Engles hold C-U's banner. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

What the day was all about. Photo courtesy Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)