Eyes Wide Open Ohio
Public Square - Cleveland, Ohio
October 27,
2006
Candidate Debate
U.S. Senate
Challenger, Sherrod Brown vs. Incumbant, Mike DeWine
Eyes Wide Open Ohio was on display outside this event to remind candidates about the cost of the war in Iraq.
Photos by Kathy Myrman and Jen Hunter, AFSC Staff
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Kathy Myrman, 330-253-7151
For Immediate Release: October 27, 2006
BROWN VISITS EYES WIDE OPEN OHIO EXHIBIT, DEWINE DOESN'T
US Senate candidate Sherrod Brown toured the Eyes Wide Open Ohio exhibit on Public Square in Cleveland today. US Senate candidate Mike DeWine did not.
The Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) invited both candidates to visit the display of military boots and civilian shoes prior to their final debate at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel across from Public Square. The Eyes Wide Open Ohio display features one pair of combat boots for each Ohio soldier killed in Iraq (134 as of Friday, October 27, 2006) and 100 pairs of civilian shoes (each representing more than 1000 Iraqis) representing the deaths of Iraqi citizens in an attempt to depict the human cost of the Iraq war. AFSC also set up the exhibit outside their previous debates in Dayton and Toledo.
"We are happy that Senatorial Candidate Sherrod Brown took time to visit the exhibit before the debate," said Kathy Myrman, Eyes Wide Open Ohio coordinator. "By going through the exhibit we hope he better understands the human cost of the Iraq war to U.S. troops and Iraqi citizens. And we hope this greater understanding was reflected in his remarks at the debate and translates into a specific plan for leaving Iraq and allowing for true Iraqi self-governance."
"We are disappointed that U.S. Senatorial Candidate Mike DeWine did not take even a few minutes to reflect on the human cost of the Iraq war by visiting the exhibit. We hope, nevertheless, that during the debate he shared a specific strategy for bringing US troops home from Iraq," said Myrman.
The Eyes Wide Open Ohio exhibit has toured the state for the past year. The national exhibit, featuring military boots of soldiers across the US who have died in Iraq, has toured the country for the past two years and been featured in many national print and electronic media.
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker social action organization that was recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947.
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[NOTE Cleveland TV stations 3 and 8 filmed the exhibit, as well as a community television station from Ashtabula. The exhibit did receive coverage on Channel 3's 6:00 pm news broadcast.]
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