photo courtesy of Chris Palmer
Student-run political groups, as well as other conservative organizations, lined Western Boulevard to protest President Barack Obama’s economic policies during his visit to campus Wednesday.
According to Thomas Matthews, a junior in technology, engineering and design education and member of the N.C. State chapter of the Young Americans for Liberty, the protestors disagreed about social issues, but they were all united in their aversion to Obama’s handling of the economy.
“There were a lot of different groups, and we didn’t agree on everything,” Matthews said. “There were Republican groups, libertarian groups and others, but we all were all on the same page when it came to the economy.”
Other protesting groups included the Raleigh division of Americans for Prosperity, a grassroots Republican organization, Overpasses for Obama’s Impeachment and the N.C. State College Republicans.
The N.C. State YAL and AFP protestors positioned themselves along Western Boulevard and the West Parking Deck, and the College Republicans were near the intersection of Sullivan Drive and Varsity Drive.
Signs included phases such as, “put the constitution on the teleprompter,” “Obama loves the poor, though he made millions more,” “commander-in-thief” and “the economy died.”
The N.C. State YAL combined with the AFP to form a group of about 60 people, whereas the College Republicans had a significantly smaller attendance, according to Matthews.
“I was surprised at the amount of people that came out,” Matthews said. “The protest was extremely successful. We had a huge turnout.”
Ross Bradley, president of the N.C. State YAL and junior in statistics, said group members organized the protest to take advantage of media coverage produced by Obama’s visit.
For this reason, Bradley said the N.C. State YAL and the other fiscally-conservative groups were successful in their attempt to raise awareness for their political ideologies.
“I was interviewed by more than five media outlets, which I hope will really give YAL some recognition,” Bradley said. “I think we brought attention to Obama driving up the national debt and the harmful effects of too much regulation in the economy.”
Matthews said he contacted other conservative groups in the area when he learned of Obama’s visit to N.C. State in order to create the largest group of protesters and attract the largest amount of media attention.
“We do so many events around Raleigh, and we don’t usually generate a large amount of media attention,” Matthews said. “When [YAL] found out about Obama coming to State, we knew that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to express our opinion. We tried to invite all of the conservative-thinking groups to come join us.”
The N.C. State College Republicans also used Obama’s speech as a chance to protest, standing closer to the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center. Like the other protestors, group members were voicing their opinion against “the president’s failed economic policies,” according to its Facebook page.
The group collaborated with other CR chapters in the Triangle area.