Politely Protesting Palin’s Politics Part II
Elon students and faculty oppose Republican VP’s visit
By Hannah Williams
Oct. 16, 2008
ELON, N.C. – Gov. Sarah Palin’s rally at Elon University was well-attended by supporters and protesters alike, but not all were welcomed.
Lauren Taylor, center, protests Palin's rally at Elon University holding a sign that reads, "Palin does not speak for this woman." Photo by Lindsay Eney, courtesy of The Pendulum.
Sophomore Andy Milne was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace after refusing to hand over his sign and shouting “Obama” and “No more blood for oil!”, according to a Pendulum article.
The protester was escorted from the rally while Palin was speaking. Cheers erupted from the crowd near third base as Milne was led away.
Palin deviated from her speech to say that perhaps the young man should stay and listen, that he might be able to learn something.
Watch Dan Rickershauser’s 2-part video coverage of Milne’s protest.
As attendees left the event, they walked from the baseball field toward the lake, passing many vendors selling McCain Palin merchandise. They also passed Taylor and other protesters.
Lauren Taylor, president of Elon’s feminist group E.F.F.E.C.T., carried a sign reading “Palin does not speak for this woman” outside of Latham Park Thursday afternoon as Palin’s supporters rallied on the baseball field at Elon University.
“People came over and yelled obscenities at me,” said Taylor, who said she was holding her sign in peaceful protest in what she believed to be an appropriate area as it was outside of the yellow tape.
“Then, my dean took my sign away from me,” she said, referring to Dean of Students Smith Jackson.
Jackson was summoned to the area to resolve a security issue. He removed Taylor’s sign and relocated it to the designated protesting area, which was located on the other side of Lake Mary Nell, east of McCrary Center for the Arts.
Jackson said he was not directly involved in the planning, but that he believed the designated area was intended to provide a venue for opposition to showcase their beliefs in view of the rally.
“I think the area was [further] removed because of the smaller sized crowd [than expected],” explained Jackson.
Bystanders said that the protesters were asked to relocate to provide for the safety of all event participants, including their own.
Joe Killian, a reporter for the Greensboro News-Record, said he was kicked to the ground by a McCain-Palin supporter when he attempted to interview one of the protesters to find out why he was there and what he was trying to accomplish.
Killian declined comment, referencing his blog as his statement of the events. He said he did not intend to become the story by writing about the incident.
“As he was telling me a large, bearded man in full McCain-Palin campaign regalia got in his face to yell at him,” Killian writes in his blog. He asked the man to hold tight while he interviewed the protester.
“The man began to say something about how of course I was interviewing the Obama people when suddenly, from behind us, the sound of a pro-Obama rap song came blaring out of the windows of a dorm building.”
Killian said the other McCain-Palin supporters around started chanting “U.S.A.” to drown out the stereo and yelling at the students in the room.
Killian writes in his blog:
It was a moment of levity in an otherwise very tense situation and so I let out a gentle chuckle and shook my head.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?!” the large bearded man said. His face was turning red. “Yeah, that’s real funny…” he said.
And then he kicked the back of my leg, buckling my right knee and sending me sprawling onto the ground.
From my position there I saw the bottoms of a number of feet almost accidentally stomping me to death as the two political camps screamed back and forth, the music continued to blare and some of the Obama crowd moved the large bearded man and his friends away. When I was helped to my feet the bearded man was walking away quickly.
The incident left him with a bruised leg and a reason to work on becoming Joe-Six-Pack wrote Killian.
Some other Obama supporters also attended the rally, both to witness the event and to represent their candidate in the midst of the republican fervor. They met some resistance, but were not escorted off the premises.
Cedric Pulliam, a freshman, said “It’s a historical event on the campus that I attend, so I decided that I had to come, even though I’m an Obama fan.”
Pulliam said he hoped the event would encourage Obama or Biden to hold a rally on Elon’s campus. He and his friends, who also supported Obama, lounged on blankets in the outfield.
Watch Pulliam’s comments.
Conley Lyons, a student from North Carolina, said that she didn’t feel threatened by the republican supporters even though she was wearing her Obama t-shirt.
“I came out because I wanted to do a peaceful protest supporting my candidate, Barack Obama,” said freshman Anna Becker.
"I was just trying to preach peace," said Freshman Anna Becker who was out supporting Sen. Barack Obama at Gov. Sarah Palin's Elon rally. Republican volunteers tried to block Becker from view with their bodies, clipboards and signs.
“McCain volunteers started coming up to me and telling me that they didn’t need my kind at this rally; they don’t need me in this country,” Becker said. The volunteers attempted to block Becker’s arms from view with their bodies and “Country First” posters.
Police officers stepped in to ease tension between the volunteers and Becker, separating them and allowing both parties to peaceably watch the rally.
Listen to Becker’s comments.
Gov. Sarah Palin addressed the crowd of North Carolinians and Elon students at Latham Field Thursday afternoon.
Sophomore Danica Shipley shows her support for the democratic ticket as she aims to photograph Palin.
Another student protester is shielded from view by a colleague volunteering for the Republican campaign.
