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Groups Gather in Opposition to Obama
By: WOUB Staff Writer
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As thousands of eager students and Athens residents crammed into the center of Ohio University's campus Wednesday evening to watch President Barack Obama deliver his campaign speech, a different crowd assembled outside of the college gate to show their opposition to the president's campaign.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, OU Students for Liberty and the OU College Republicans were just a few of many groups sporting signs and vocally spreading messages to protest Obama's campaign and the policies that he supports.
Nathan Kelley, an executive board member for the OU Students for Liberty, said the student group staged a protest to gain publicity for the issues they care about.
“We’ve got a few posters here about what we oppose about the Obama administration, the debt, indefinite detention, the wars,” he said.
Kelley said they're also trying to gain support for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.
Some protesters stood outside the gate alone, like John Knouse, who said he wants the candidates to pay more attention to issues like global warming.
“I believe that global climate change is the most critical issue of all the critical issues facing the world today. It is a bottom line issue. If we don’t act on it, every other issue will be moot," he said.
Most protests were seemingly peaceful. No word yet if Athens police needed to intervene during the president's visit.