“I know a lot of students were critical of the war in Iraq, or willing to be critical during a dinner conversation, but I wish that more of them would carry their opinions outside the safety of their houses,” he says. “We can deplore suffering and we can deplore the loss of a life, but I think that we have to keep this as a part of our everyday consciousness.”

Walters says that the weekly walk is ultimately more contemplative than political for him. He does not consider himself a pacifist in general, but says that these vigils allow him a moment of contemplation about the suffering occurring overseas.

“I think its very easy to get caught up in the bubble of school and not ever have time to think seriously, and I think this offers a chance to do that,” Walters says.

Bloomfield says that he hopes that his walk for peace will spread more widely throughout the Boston-Cambridge area. He has no plan to stop the gatherings in the foreseeable future.

He says that the seeds are already planted for similar gatherings at Boston University, Boston College, and Suffolk University, where vigils are also held likewise every Wednesday at noon.