A group of Iowa State University students took to the open Thursday afternoon near Parks Library to voice their support for the legalization of marijuana.

“If you get caught with a roach, you get thrown in jail, but if you get caught with an open can of beer you get a slap on the wrist!” shouted Russ Nupnau, a freshman in mechanical engineering.

Nupnau and several others held signs and took down the names of fellow students who said they supported the group SAFER, which stands for “Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation.”

SAFER is a national organization that kicked off National Alcohol Awareness Month by hosting rallies at 83 college campuses around the country where students distributed information about the relative harms of alcohol and marijuana.

Aaron Schoeneman, a freshman in psychology, headed up the event at ISU, the only college in Iowa to participate. Schoeneman said the group attracted a good deal of interest and a mixed response from students.

“There have been a lot of people who have stopped and asked questions, and a lot that don’t necessarily agree with it,” Schoeneman said. “We’re not saying drinking should not be allowed, but students should have a safer alternative.”

He said his main message to his fellow students was that the current laws in the United States are driving students to drink alcohol, which he believes statistics prove to be more dangerous than marijuana.

Alcohol and marijuana are readily available on campus, Schoeneman said, and he thinks students should be able to choose what he considers the safer alternative.

“People who use marijuana are just normal people who smoke pot,” he said. “We’re not murderers or anything.”

Students passing by Parks Library shared varying views on the topic.

Jay Albrecht, a senior in marketing and logistics, said he disagreed with the group’s message.

“I’m not a fan of legalizing it. I don’t think it benefits society in any way,” Albrecht said. “Both alcohol and marijuana are a slippery slope, and I feel like they cause a lot of problems.

Kyle Bitterman, a sophomore in speech communication, sat and listened to the group’s message outside of Caribou Coffee and said he shared the opinion that marijuana should be legal.