Just before 9 a.m. last Wednesday morning, the tents pitched at Peace Camp, the impromptu settlement outside the Campus Center, flapped wildly in the wind. Camp residents Laura Bower '06 and Anna Dupay '06, however, lay peacefully still.

A few minutes later, Dupay is up and about, getting ready for classes. "Most of the time we wake up around 9am, if our alarm clock works" said Dupay, pointing to the small hand-held clock dangling from some loose netting in the top of the tent.

Dupay has all four of her classes on Wednesdays, which means that she won't return to the camp until 4:30 p.m. Before she leaves, Dupay stops to listen to the passerby's whistling, which is very audible through the thin tent walls.

Dupay and Bower spend most of the early part of their days in classes. Afternoons are usually dedicated to homework and catching up on sleep. "Sometimes I come back to the camp to take a nap or sit out on the tarp and study," Bower said. She likes studying at peace camp because "there aren't any distractions . . . no computer."

At 6 p.m. every day, residents of Peace Camp hold an open meeting to coordinate the actions of the on-campus anti-war movement.

Dupay and Bower say that the 6 p.m. meeting "offers a chance for them to reveal ideas and insights gathered during the day." That particular Wednesday, Anna introduces a plan to fund humanitarian aid donations to the people of Iraq. The group agrees that not only is this plan consistent with activist ideals, but also incorporates those pro-war parties who believe in liberating the Iraqis and rebuilding the nation.

The meetings are not always as amicable. Bower says that recently, she and several other students argued about the racial diversity of Peace Camp residents, and whether or not the group should more actively solicit participation from other student organizations.

"We disagreed over whether there were people of enough ethnicities in the camp," Bower said.

After the evening session, Bowerand Dupay return to their dorm rooms to complete work and meet up with friends. According to Anna, they usually return sometime after midnight, "depending upon how much homework we have."

Despite wandering students' noise, getting to sleep is usually not too much of a problem for Dupay and Bower. "Most of the time we're pretty tired anyway," Dupay said.

While they manage to do complete their schoolwork and get enough sleep, Dupay and Bower find that more minor elements of the their daily routine are quite disrupted by their choice of residence. Dupay and Bower say that going to the bathroom and taking care of hygiene, for instance, is much bigger deal for them now.

"It's different when you don't live across from a bathroom . . . showering plays a more prominent role in my schedule," said Bower, whose nearest accessible bathrooms are in Campus Center and the dorms.

Bower says that her wardrobe has taken a hit since she started camping out. "I walk around wearing a lot of extra sweaters and flannel pants that do not match," Bower said. "In other words, I dress funny," she concluded.

Dupay and Bower hope that more students will visit Peace Camp, either for the 6 p.m. meetings or just to talk about issues involving the anti-war movement.

"We want more people to come by and talk to us, ask us questions," Bower said. "We like people and we're very nice, and we'll probably give you food."