Incumbent Sen. Kay Hagan made a campaign stop on NC State’s campus Monday, but to the dismay of some, including a demonstrator dressed as a duck who protested outside of the event, campaign organizers said it was closed to the public.

Hagan met with about 50 students, guests and members of the media at the campaign event in Talley Student Union.  

During the event, an unnamed demonstrator wore a duck costume to make a point that Hagan has been ducking the public by holding invitation-only events and choosing not to participate in additional debates.

At a press conference after Hagan’s address, a reporter asked Hagan to respond to criticisms levied by Tillis’ campaign that she is ducking the public, citing her decision not to participate in an additional debate and hold invitation-only events, such as Monday’s gathering at NC State.

“Our teams negotiated for quite a few months back in July where we both agreed to do three debates,” Hagan said. “We have completed those three debates.”

Hagan said, in her first senate campaign, Sen. Elizabeth Dole did not agree to any debates, and now she is taking the time before the election to travel North Carolina and hold forums, including Monday’s stop at NC State, to listen to voter concerns. 

In her response, Hagan never addressed how she has been holding closed events. 

Prior to the event, organizers said the event was not open to the public. Colby Moore, a political fellow at Kay Hagan for Senate, said the event would be strictly invitation-only. 

Josue Berduo, a junior in economics who spoke before Hagan and assisted her staff in organizing the event on campus, also requested the Technician not publish the location of the event due to security concerns because it was limited to 50 people and closed to the general public.

However, after the event, Hagan spokeman Chris Hayden told the News & Observer any NC State student could have attended the event.

“I don’t think we turned away anyone,” Hayden told the News & Observer.

When asked about the discrepancy between the characterization of the event prior to the meeting and in the press after, Moore deferred to superiors, who did not get back with the Technician before press time.

After being introduced by two student speakers, Hagan addressed her education platform and criticized opponent Thom Tillis for slashing education budgets to provide tax breaks to the wealthy during his time as the North Carolina Speaker of the House since 2011. 

Hagan noted her successes regarding education, citing how she was involved with state budgets that included teacher raises and funding for NC State’s Hunt Library.

“I included a teacher pay raise every budget year,” Hagan said. “Teachers got a 21 percent pay raise when I was doing the budget.”

Before Hagan’s speech, Berduo spoke in support of Hagan, citing Tillis’ desire to get rid of federal Pell Grants. He said such a move would be harmful to students, including himself, who receive Pell Grants to help fund the already high cost of education. 

“Thanks to the federal Pell Grant, I am facing less financial burden,” Berduo said. “I am here to get an education so I can give back to the community in the long run.”

Berduo said thousands of students at NC State rely on federal grants. 

During her speech, Hagan stressed that Tillis slashed $500 million from public education in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy, a fact named “half true” from the fact-checking website PolitiFact because the legislature increased education spending from previous years in its 2013 budget, but spent about $500 million less than what was requested to maintain the status quo.

Rashad Hamilton, a senior in political science who also spoke prior to Hagan, stressed the importance of Hagan’s efforts to help students refinance their student loans, a policy Tillis does not support. 

If all things go as planned, Hamilton said he will graduate from NC State in May with a degree in political science.

“I will also leave with two other features common amongst my peers,” Hamilton said. “I will leave with a dream intact, and I will leave with a mountain of debt that threatens to undermine that dream.”

Hagan criticized Tillis for adding a sales tax to college meal plans as well as for his comments about wanting to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education 

“Speaker Tillis just isn’t working for working families,” Hagan said.