Obama Fills Ira Allen

Speaking of hope and civic duty much enthusiasm among citizens of all political parties

Lydia Morin

Issue date: 3/14/06 Section: News

Media Credit: C. W. Soule

Obama greets the overflow of people crowded in front of the Chapel

Over 2,000 people came to the UVM campus to hear Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill) campaign for senatorial hopeful, Congressman Bernie Sanders. By 10:30 am Friday morning, there was a line stemming from Ira Allen Chapel to Williams and only one hour later it reached the bookstore. The nine hundred-person capacity of the chapel was pushed to its limit as enthused members of the UVM community and the Burlington area squeezed into the pews awaiting Obama's arrival. Obama's plane hadn't even landed yet and the CC Theater was already seating the overflow from Ira Allen.

Those who made it inside Ira Allen were met with an avalanche of campaign posters for both Sanders and state Senator Peter Welch, who is running to take Sanders' place in the US House of Representatives.

Volunteers from various campus organizations were working as event staff and ushers; the College Democrats, who played a substantial role in the event staffing, had a notable presence. Co-President of the College Dems, Freshman Elizabeth Nicholas, was very happy with the event, "We're hoping to attract new members, and we've had Edwards and now Obama." She wished that more students were showing interest because, "Vermont is so small that we really get to spend time with these politicians. We want to encourage more to help the organization grow."

On Friday, however, the interest was great, as Sophomore Kesha Ram began her introductions. There were students climbing the windows outside of the chapel, poking their faces in front of the panes, just to be able to see the event. Ram voiced her concerns that "more often than not students are [too] cynical about politics in the environment," an attitude frequently seen on college campuses throughout the country. She went on to emphasize that, "restoring our government is not only the job of senators like Obama, but of college students and young people," because "our future is too important that we can't afford not to vote."

Next, former Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle thanked everyone who voted in the Burlington Mayoral race and urged the people to vote for Welch, so "Vermont's voice remains a Progressive voice, that voices against the war, against the fiscal policy and for long overdue universal healthcare." Clavelle's final message was that by voting citizens can and must "protect against politics for the interest of a few at the expense of the many."

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