Boston University student protesters had nothing good to say about the Army’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy during a silent demonstration yesterday afternoon near Marsh Plaza.

The 10 students took turns standing at attention in military pants and rainbow-colored T-shirts with “DADT” duct taped across their mouths. A banner bearing a mission statement for supporters to sign and a rainbow flag that said pace, Italian for peace, appeared behind them.

“We wanted a way to represent visually the oppression of gays in the military, so we decided rainbow on top, military on bottom,” group organizer Ema Alsina said.

Alsina, a College of Arts and Science sophomore, said participants decided just a few weeks ago that they would hold the silent protest against the military policy that allows homosexuals to serve in the army as long as they are not open about sexuality.

The group decided a silent protest would effectively “speak out” for those who cannot talk for themselves without risking their military positions, Alsina said. She said she was happy with the protest because it promoted awareness of the issues, and was “a step in the right direction.”

“It got people talking,” she said. “Now they’ll see that it matters, that it exists. I hope that the discussion continues, and people will consider it in their political affiliations.”

The government has spent more than $200 million per year prosecuting gay and lesbian soldiers, stand-in designated speaker Rachel Prentki, a College of Communication sophomore, said. She said 11,000 soldiers have already been removed from the military, and 41,000 more could be because of the policy on gays.

Spectrum President Emeri Burks, a CAS senior, said she thinks the military’s policy prohibits homosexuals from the opportunity “to fight and die for a country that claims to uphold their civil rights.”

Spectrum is the on-campus gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered group that promotes tolerance, awareness and support for the GLBT community.

Burks said that, in addition to raising “don’t ask, don’t tell” awareness, the group hoped to promote The Day of Silence, another silent protest symbolizing the silence forced upon homosexuals by society.

Designated speaker Joe Burns said he thinks military policy does not make sense and called it “the Rainbow Scare,” a reference to the 1950s Red Scare, during which people were zealously persecuted for suspected communist ties.

“They’re kicking out gays but recruiting more convicts,” Burns, a CAS sophomore, said. “You can be openly gay and serve in the police force . . . and the military is also a public service.”