Hundreds of thousands of high school and college students walked out of their classes yesterday to protest the Bush Administration’s plans to invade Iraq.

The protest was organized by students in the US, but students around the globe walked out of classes in solidarity with their American counterparts.

Australians kicked off the day with over 20,000 students marching.

In Spain, tens of thousands of students protested Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s support for President Bush.

In Paris, police say as many as 20,000 people rallied, many of them students.

In Sweden, 5,000 students rallied. Thousands more rallied in various cities across Switzerland. 300 students marched to the U.S. Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern.

In London, thousands of high school students gathered outside Prime Minister Tony Blair’s residence, and some of them tried to scale the gates.

Some 2,000 Palestinians, mostly students, demonstrated in Damascus, Syria.

Actions also took place in Canada, Bulgaria, Greece, Brazil and Scotland.

Here in the US, tens of thousands of students from over 400 high school and college campuses held 'Books Not Bombs' actions yesterday. This according to the umbrella group that organized the protest, the National Youth and Student Coalition.

Some campuses saw thousands turn out for rallies; some schools experienced only a few students walking out. Some schools cracked down on students while at others, professors cancelled classes to show their support.

University of New Mexico students marched through classroom buildings, urging students in class to join them. The demonstrators also went to the ROTC building, the president’s house and through the engineering complex and the Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies, chanting, “Keep war research off our campus.” Then they blocked a busy street in front of the university.

Well, we’ll let the students themselves tell their stories.

Tape:

• Students around the world walk out in protest of war, March 5, 2003.