The few people out moved along with heads down against a frigid wind. No one seemed interested in stopping to talk.

None of this, however, deterred Rich Whipple and Jon Hayes, who stood behind a table outside the Student Union stacked with orange paper pamphlets, strips of orange fabric and black Sharpie pens.

Hands thrust inside their coat pockets, Rich and Jon were bouncing on their heels and trying to keep warm.

I stopped to ask them what they were selling. Conversation, they told me. Ideas. Civic engagement.

They explained that the OrangeBand Initiative began at Virginia's James Madison University shortly after the war in Iraq started almost four years ago. A group of students wanted to encourage discussion of feelings - pro, con or conflicted - about the war.

The plan was to set up campus-wide forums and invite any and all opinions.

Students would jot a word or two that described their feelings on orange bands of fabric and then tie them to bags or backpacks. A fluttering orange band was an invitation for anyone to open to discussion with that person.

Today, the OrangeBand Initiative has spread to college campuses around the country. Naturally, there's a blog about it and a Web site explaining it all, www.orangeband.org. The focus has shifted from the war (though that is still a welcome conversation starter) to any topic a student cares about.

At the U., several student organizations have rallied behind the project. For Rich, a 25-year-old majoring in political science and family studies, it means tying a band to his backpack with this conversation starter: "No education tax vouchers."

He works part time as an aide to special needs students at a Holladay elementary school. "I feel strongly about public education for everyone," he said. "I wouldn't want to see any cuts to funding. I think vouchers would hurt everyone, but especially students with special needs."

I was skeptical that some 25,000 students milling around on a gigantic college campus would find it hard to sit down and talk about what was on their minds with others. It's a university, isn't it? Didn't walking around with an orange band flapping from a backpack seem a bit contrived?

"We're living in, like, bubbles here," explained Jon, 20, who's majoring in psychology and sociology. "We're walking around with iPods and talking on cell phones. We don't have quality conversations with each other very

often."

The orange bands, he said, invite curiosity. People ask him what the "orange thing" is about. He tells them, and a discussion usually begins.

If you've bought into a stereotype that college students are apathetic or indifferent to the world, please think again. I can remind you that the 18-30 age group voted in record numbers in 2004 and matched that interest level in last week's election.

Here are some OrangeBand topics U. students have adopted. If you should see one that strikes your interest, feel free to talk to its owner:

"Film is art." "Consent in relationships." "Abortion is murder." "Darfur." "Parking problems." "Obama '08." "Get outside the box." "Non-critical thinking." "Marriage=man&woman." "Media conglomeration." "Sex slavery."

hmullen@sltrib.com