It started with an ad-libbed rap for a class at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG), and grew into a sizeable grassroots campaign summed up with one simple phrase: "Save the Bow."

Stuart Rosenberg, a first-year student at KSG and a long-time patron of the Bow and Arrow Pub, gave the call to arms that resulted an all-day event at the Harvard Square bar yesterday. Several KSG students held a petition drive, hoping to keep the bar in the Square.

Last night, the Bow was packed with customers as early as 7 p.m. and Rosenberg had already collected 300 signatures by 9 p.m., and said he was confident he would reach his goal of 500 signatures by the end of the night.

The bar is housed in a building owned by the Harvard Cooperative Society (Coop), which will soon be renovated--thereby forcing the bar to vacate the premises temporarily.

The Coop administration has said it will raise its rents after the renovations but made no promise to renew the bar's lease. Currently, the Coop is renewing the bar's lease on a monthly basis until the renovations begin.

"I went to Tufts as an undergraduate, and I've been coming to the Bow since 1988," Rosenberg said. "We decided to get a night where people can come, sign a petition and bring their Coop number so [the Coop] can understand that not all Coop members support what they're doing."

Rosenberg initially started the campaign as an assignment for a class he was taking on political action skills at the KSG. But what started out as a for-credit project for the class has grown into a full-fledged campaign.

"We're all Coop members, and we have a share in their decisions. We have a say, or at least we should!" Rosenberg said.