Last Friday morning the captain of my high school football team died in a training accident in Virginia — he was a marine. He was two years ahead of me in school. He was very young — another young life lost.

I can’t help but wonder how the life of my friend will be remembered. Additionally, what of the nearly 4,000 young men and women that have also fallen? I’m sure that one day their names will be engraved into a large slab of granite so that families passing through the area can pass them by like a fleeting wind. For me this distant future of faint remembrance isn’t enough. I feel compelled to pay respect today.

As college students here in America, a vast amount of those currently involved in the dirty work of the Iraq War are our peers and friends. It’s time for us to stand up and do something about the situation.

You see the phrase “a time for change” all the time. Sometimes it’s in reference to lifestyle choices, and lately it might even be about the weather we’ve been having. I want to use the phrase to challenge all college students. It’s time for a change. It’s time for us, the college students of America, to bring about that change.

I have respect for all the Armed Forces of our country. The same respect goes for those who choose to train in the ROTC program. I think, because of our respect, we should do our best to place constraints on the young men and women that are dying for this country.

As some may know, Sept. 28 is the national day for youth and student action against the war. There is a large march and protest in Washington, D.C. to give us a day where our voice rings the loudest in the nation. I want to encourage you to go to D.C., if you are able. So often protests led by college students end up being dramatically smaller than they could be.

If you cannot make it to D.C., please take the 28th as a day to push your voice forward. Contact your congressmen and women, set up a local demonstration — just do something. We need for this country to erupt with the voices of students who are tired of seeing their peers die.

Whether you are for or against the war, you have to accept that the time has come to hold those leading the war accountable. We are the future of this country. It’s our job and responsibility to be a strong voice as we move into the upcoming election year. It’s time for everyone to remember the thousands of former football captains, friends, fiances, brothers, sisters, daughters and sons that have been lost to the war. Now it’s our time to be their voice.

Are you going to speak for the silent? E-mail us your plans at [email protected].