Over the years, she has organized dozens of peace vigils like this one being set up in a parking lot. Find common ground, she has always preached, and any conflict can be resolved.

But she's now engaged in a conflict of her own -- a dispute over military recruiting in high schools that has polarized rural Wilkes County in northwestern North Carolina.

For three years, Ferrell has asked permission to distribute pamphlets that warn students to think twice before joining the military. But the school superintendent has stopped her, calling her activities unpatriotic. The American Civil Liberties Union, calling it a First Amendment issue, has threatened to sue.

"The students need to know there are alternatives to the military," said Ferrell, a Quaker. "But they're not getting the other side."

Recruiters have turned to high schools to fill the ranks. After five years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and longer deployments, they have been hard pressed to meet demands.

"Counter recruiters" say recruiters have given young people misleading information and often target schools in poor and rural areas where options for graduates are limited. The activists want students to know they have prospects besides the military.

People in Wilkes County worked in textile mills and furniture factories until those jobs left. The faltering economy has made the area a fertile recruiting ground, members of Ferrell's group said.

"Many students feel like they have no future," said Tom Morris, 56, a retired engineer and small-business owner.

Ferrell had heard several high school teachers complain of recruiter tactics and remembered when her son Jesse was in high school and a recruiter kept calling her home -- even after she told the military to stop.

She began collecting materials from anti-war groups such as the Quaker House in Fayetteville. She filled her home with boxes of pamphlets, including index cards with a list of questions students should ask recruiters.

One thing Ferrell didn't count on was the push back from the school district.

Superintendent Stephen Laws reviewed the materials and told her he wasn't going to allow her in the schools. He said the military was a good career choice. He also didn't think people should say anything negative about the military.

Disappointed but determined, Ferrell called every school board member and spoke at a board meeting. The board backed Laws.

In September 2005, Ferrell turned to the ACLU. Two years passed before the group reached an agreement with the board: Ferrell would be allowed in the high schools twice a semester.

Ferrell set up a "peace table" in the hallways, where she handed out materials and talked to students about AmeriCorps and other alternatives to the military.

But by December, Laws said he had enough. A principal had complained, and Laws told Ferrell her message was no longer welcomed.

Dueling opportunities

Recruiters say the controversy has made it more difficult for them to do their job.

Before, they had unfettered access to schools. Now, they can visit only twice a semester. And when they do, they have to stand at a table. They can't sit down and talk with students while they're eating lunch.

"I may not like it, but you have to live by the rules," Army Sgt. R. Scott Gianfrancesco said.

He added: "It's all about opportunities. We give them a chance to leave and make a better life. There aren't many opportunities here for young people."

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