Grant Park was transformed into a tent city by college students Saturday in an effort to draw attention to the

plight of the Night Commuters of Northern Uganda.Approximately eight hundred committed students refused to allow the inclement weather to dampen their spirits or their mission. They were part of the Global Night Commute taking place in 138 cities across the country.

Nathan Mustain, organizer from Loyola and founder of the organization Invisible Conflicts, told me he wanted to do something after he saw the film 'Invisible Children', a documentary about the Night Commuters produced by a group of recent UCLA graduates.

'The movie changed my life and made me realize I could no longer carry on with business as usual while there was brutality and downright evil having its way with children in Uganda, and the world over.'

With the assistance of the Invisible Children organization he and his group have been sponsoring screenings of the movie on campus. Interest and attendance has grown and after only a month, they began packing auditoriums with students.

Night Commuters refers to over 40,000 children of Northern Uganda who walk from rural areas each night to seek safety from abduction into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). They sleep in city centers, schools and on the streets where there is relative safety. Each morning, they rise before dawn and walk home to attend school and start the process all over.

Nathan said when he saw the movie he realized 'These kids could be us. They could be our brothers and sisters.'

Though most of Uganda is relatively stable after 20 years of conflict, insecurity still exists in the North where the LRA still operates. An estimated 20,000 children have been kidnapped from their homes and forced into conscription by the LRA, a mystical rebel group that has no clear political goals and presents no demands.

Abducted children comprise 90% of the 'army' and are forced to serve as porters, soldiers and the girls as sex slaves. They are often forced to murder their family members and neighbors and commit other atrocities to instill fear in the children, condition them to killing, and intimidate them to prevent escape attempts.

Students that have seen the movie were horrified by what they saw. Many joined the organization whose goal is 'to send people with the privilege and high profile that comes with being American to Uganda to directly pressure the Ugandan and U.S. governments to work harder for a just peace.'

They understand that countries with no U.S. strategic interest rate very low on the priority list of our government.

They joined with other universities and some high schools, and with the help of the Invisible Children organization, acquired the necessary permits.They met at DePaul's Fullerton campus and walked to Grant Park where they spent the night writing letters to President Bush, the U.S. Congress, and the U.N. They also brought materials for art projects to send to the children to let them know they weren't alone.

Throughout the night, they passed out garbage bags to help keep people dry, they held a prayer circle at the Lincoln Statue at midnight which was so large they broke up into numerous smaller groups. They completed the service by singing songs on the plaza in front of the statue.Jason Russell, one of the filmmakers and co-founders of Invisible Children, Inc, attended the event with Jacob, a former Night Commuter who the filmmakers brought to the United States. He now works with the Invisible Children organization and is completing his education here.

The highlight of their event was sunrise when Oprah, who had interviewed Russell on her show last week, was to come to take a group picture at the Lincoln Statue.