Activist Cindy Sheehan--the mother of Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq in April 2004--kicked off the three days of peaceful anti-war protests at De Anza College on Nov. 9 with a passionate but peaceful press conference at the school's Hinson Campus Center. Though there were plenty of signs and fliers on campus advertising Sheehan's appearance, few students showed up for the press conference.

Powell was speaking as part of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Celebrity Forum. On Nov. 9 and 10, his talks were met with a peace vigil.

According to witnesses, so-called anarchists arrived on Nov. 11. They interrupted the peace vigil and frightened those arriving to hear Powell by throwing rocks, eggs, ice and other objects at police.

The demonstrators shattered the windshield of at least one police vehicle, kicked-in doors at the Flint Center, attempting to breaking into Powell's talk, and they also tried to use a barricade to attack news vans.

"Alarms went off twice and Colin Powell had to stop," Marjan Sadoughi, a student journalist, said of fire alarms activated by protesters attempting to kick-down doors. "Someone also stood up [during Powell's speech] and chanted 'liar, liar.' "[The protester] was dragged out," she said.

Sadoughi had been covering the event as a photographer, but after attempting to photograph the man pulled out of the audience, she said officials stopped her from taking pictures.

"It was scary," said Cupertino resident Shelley Leiser of having to walk past a gauntlet of police officers in riot gear to enter the event. "The tone of [the protesters] was ugly," she said, "and made many of those attending nervous."

After the talk, Leiser said the audience was led out of the building through a back entrance. "We couldn't go out the front of the center," she said, while praising the efforts of the police to put the audience--many of whom were senior citizens with walkers--at ease.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Department spokesman Terrence Helm said six individuals were arrested for their part in protests. "The majority of them asked to be arrested and used passive resistance techniques," he said.

In addition to seven De Anza police officers, Helm said there were 50 police officers from San Jose and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office at Flint Center to help control what he called "anarchists."

Despite the property damage, "there were no injuries," Helms said.

Leiser, who had been involved in peace vigils since the arrival of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Nov. 9, said the demonstrators' tactics disturbed her.

"It was not an effective way to protest," she said. "It seemed to polarize the protesters."