He and two others chose the latter.
Bollag, an undeclared UNC freshman, stayed in Price's Chapel Hill office with about a dozen others, including several University students, from Monday to Tuesday evening to protest a possible war with Iraq. The three were arrested for trespassing by Chapel Hill police shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Bollag said he came to Price's office about 6 p.m. Monday after an anti-war rally at a busy intersection on Fordham Boulevard, though others arrived earlier.
A protester representing the group spoke with Price by telephone Monday night and asked him to propose a resolution against an attack on Iraq.
Bollag said Price mentioned he was considering proposing a resolution in the U.S. Congress that gives limited power to the president if war is declared.
Lenore Yarger, a Chatham County resident who also was arrested, said the protesters refused to leave because they were not satisfied with Price's response. "We weren't comfortable with that," she said. "We decided to stay in the office all night."
Protesters said some came and went throughout the sit-in, taking the places of others. As many as 17 were present Monday night. Price's staff accommodated the group that night, staying in shifts to keep the office open, Bollag said. "(Price's people) said, 'We were more than accommodating to you last night. ... At 7 o'clock we're going to close the office, and (if you stay) you'll be arrested for trespassing.'"
The Daily Tar Heel's calls to Price's offices in North Carolina and Washington, D.C., were not returned as of press time.
The three protesters arrested will appear in Orange County District Court in Hillsborough on Nov. 12. They are charged with second-degree trespassing.
