Palin visitors arrive early

Visitors were already arriving on campus before 9:30 a.m. and walking to Latham Park to reserve their spot for the 3 p.m. event. Photo by David Wells.

David Wells
Photo Editor

Before 9:30 a.m. visitors were parking their cars on the Firehouse Fields on Williamson Avenue and walking to Latham Park to reserve their spot in line for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s afternoon speech.

Many of these early birds were wearing their patriotic colors to get in the spirit of the event. At the entrance to the field parking lot a variety of John McCain and Sarah Palin support buttons are being sold for $5 a piece.

Supporters of Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin were selling buttons for $5 each at the entrance to Firehouse Field on Williamson Avenue, where visitors are told to park.

College Republicans prepare for Palin’s arrival

College Republicans create signs Wednesday night to prepare for Palin

Camille Demere
Multimedia Editor

The Elon University College Republicans geared up for Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin’s visit on Thursday by making signs.

Click HERE for video of the preparations or watch below:

Security beefed up for Palin’s arrival

Security measures are being kept confidential to protect Palin and the community. There will be metal detectors and screening at the gates. Photos by Rachel Cieri.

Laura Smith
Reporter

Attendance at Gov. Sarah Palin’s rally Thursday will be very high, but the university and campaign have taken this into account and have implemented several safety precautions to ensure safety, said Smith Jackson, dean of students, in a statement Wednesday.

Because of the immense interest in a vice presidential candidate coming to speak at Elon, not only will several roads be closed, but security will be heightened, Jackson said.

Dan Anderson, assistant vice president and director of university relations, is confident security will be well prepared and implemented for Palin’s visit.

“I think they have done everything they can for the event,” Anderson said.

Campus security, campus police and secret service have been planning the security for the rally for several days and installing measures that will control any problematic situation that may arise.

Anderson said police officers and secret security personnel are well prepared with plans to handle any array of security issues.

“The past two days they have been arranging the manpower for the event and deciding who will do what,” he said.

The McCain-Palin campaign brought in their own generators so they would not use any university electricity.

Anderson said there will be officers from several surrounding areas including county sheriffs and highway patrol.

Secret service will be patrolling the area as well.

Because of safety concerns, Chuck Gantos, director of campus safety and police, declined to comment.

According to Jackson’s letter, no folding chairs, bags, backpacks or signs will be allowed inside the gates. There will also be metal detectors located on Bank of America Drive to screen those entering the park.

“The presence of a vice presidential candidate on campus is a major event and will draw thousands of visitors and retain more of our students, faculty and staff on campus than is typical,” Jackson said.

Palin will speak to the community during a campaign rally, which will take place at 3 p.m. at Latham Park.

University sits back while campaign goes to work

By Wednesday evening, Latham Park had begun to be transformed to accommodate Gov. Palin and the expected crowd on Thursday. Photos by Rachel Cieri.

Rachel Cieri
Reporter

For an event headlining with names as big as Sarah Palin and Hank Williams Jr., the Elon administration has undertaken very few preparations at Latham Park to prepare for Thursday’s event.

Director of Construction Management Neil Bromilow said his crews are entirely uninvolved with the preparations and Tom Flood, superintendent of landscaping and grounds, has supervised very minimal preparations.

Essentially, the McCain-Palin campaign is overseeing the entire event, they said.

“They have been excellent to work with,” Flood said of the campaign volunteers. “They’re very self-contained. They even have their own generator so they don’t use our power.”

The campaign has been using all of its own equipment and is paying for every expense, he said. The little money the university has invested is being tracked to be reimbursed by the campaign.

The McCain-Palin campaign declined to comment for security concerns.

The grounds workers have simply sprayed fungicide underneath the staging to prevent the growth of disease and have taken preventative measures in the access areas to protect the turf, Flood said.

The stage Hank Williams Jr. and Gov. Sarah Palin are set to appear later Thursday afternoon had already been constructed by Wednesday. Photo by Rachel Cieri.

Director of Physical Plant Robert Buchholz said the lights on the stadium needed to be adjusted so only a few would be lit during the event. The university is also providing some of the bus services from parking at Firehouse Field to Latham Park for special needs visitors.

Flood said their main role in the process is to provide information and discussion about the repairs that may be needed after the expected 10,000 to 15,000 people have crowded the park.

Buchholz and the physical plant have provided the campaign with basic maps of campus and the surrounding area. They have also helped to locate an area for restroom facilities and trash receptacles.

The campaign began setting up at 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to Buchholz.

By Wednesday evening volunteers had strategically placed massive signs proclaiming “Country First” and “Victory in North Carolina” near the stands at the field.

A platform with raised speakers had been placed near second base, facing toward the outfield.

As of Wednesday evening a majority of the equipment had yet to make its way onto the field, with two half-unloaded moving trucks sitting in an adjacent parking lot. A table saw, work bench and dozens of two-by-fours sat behind it.

Folding tables and chairs were still collapsed along the third-base side of the field while upbeat music blared through speakers that will project Palin’s voice Thursday.

Flood does not expect to do much to put the field back together after the event wraps up

“It will take a little work, but it won’t have a major impact,” he said.

Palin

Buchholz said the campaign will likely clean up after itself since they are taking care of more than 95 percent of the preparation, he estimates.

“We’ll just come in behind them and get everything up to Elon standards,” Buchholz said.

Grounds crews will oversee the field again following the event and the baseball team will return to practicing in Latham Park on Friday.

Hank Williams Jr. to stomp for Palin

Hank Williams Jr. appeared at the GOP Convention in Philadelphia on July 31. He will open for Palin Thursday afternoon. Photo courtesy of George Reynolds/MCT Campus.

Bryce Little
Reporter

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will not be the only high-profile figure on campus Thursday afternoon. Hank Williams Jr. will also be at Elon to perform and show his support for the Alaska governor.Williams is known for his numerous country music hits and his name is synonymous with the Monday Night Football theme song. He has been with Palin on several of her campaign stops performing the song, “McCain-Palin Tradition.”

The song is a remake of his original song, “Family Tradition,” which portrays Williams as a man who enjoys hard whiskey and marijuana.

But the version created for McCain and Palin gives a new take on his old song, praising McCain and Palin as the candidates who can turn America around.

Having a well-known country star on stage with Palin could help her and the Republican party seem more accessible to the public, music professor Matthew Buckmaster said.

“It gives the Republican party a little more of grounding, a common folk feel to it,” Buckmaster said. “A danger always with the Republicans is that they can seem elitist and they are doing a great job with Hank Williams to counter act that.”

Williams is not alone in backing candidates with his music. Music has become a staple in this presidential election and artists from all over the country have picked sides and thrown benefits for both candidates.

“Music is one of the critical backbones of any nation’s patriotism,” Buckmaster said.

Groups like The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead and Beastie Boys have all announced they will be performing concerts in several swing states to support Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Parking and travel restrictions for Palin’s visit; classes on normal schedule, security tight

The following came from an e-mail from Vice President and Dean of Student Life Smith Jackson:

Sarah Palin will speak on campus at Latham Park (baseball complex) at 3 p.m. Thursday. Gates will open at noon, with Hank Williams Jr. performing prior to her remarks. There will be no seating, so all attending will either be standing or sitting on the grass.

• Classes will be held according to regular schedule.
• Everyone attending the event must have a ticket (currently available in the Koury Athletic Center concourse until 5 p.m. today; one ticket is available per Phoenix card swipe).  Tickets for the public may be picked up at McCain-Palin offices in several surround cities on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Security will be very tight; metal detectors will be located on Bank of America Drive to screen those entering Latham Park. Items such book bags, chairs, umbrellas, coolers, etc., will be prohibited. Blankets to sit on will be allowed.

Parking and Road Closures

• Students will not be asked to move their cars, as we do for football games.
• Bank of America Drive will be closed from 9 a.m. until after the event. The Ingold lot will be closed all day.
• Phoenix Drive will be closed at 9 a.m. from the west entrance to the Harper Center lot to Williamson Avenue. Students may enter the Harper lot at the east entrance off Phoenix drive, by way of O’Kelly.
• Williamson Avenue will be closed from Haggard Avenue to University Drive from 10 a.m. until after the event.  Students in the Oaks and faculty/staff who park in the Center for the Arts/Koury Center lot may park in these lots before 10 a.m., after which they may leave via Haggard Avenue only.  Students with The Oaks parking decal may enter The Oaks lot via the south entrance if they need to return to their apartments.
• Event parking will be at the Firehouse Field, with overflow at the Oak Street property, next to the cemetery. Shuttles will be provided for persons with disabilities from each location to the Center for the Arts; those who cannot walk will be transported via golf cart to the entrance to Latham Park.
• The Elon Shuttle will run its normal schedule in the areas surrounding the campus, with adjustments in the route for the West Line due to the closing of Phoenix Drive and parts of Williamson Avenue.

Politely protesting Palin’s politics; Elon students and faculty oppose Republican VP’s visit

Hannah Williams
Reporter

Elon students and faculty who oppose Gov. Sarah Palin’s political stance plan to avoid the vice presidential candidate’s campaign rally at Latham Park at 3 p.m. today.

Many political opponents said they did not have any qualms with the university’s decision to host Palin, seeing it as a part of the political process.

Still, they had no plans to support her appearance.

College Democrats President Daniel Shutt said the group would not protest the rally but rather campaign on Sen. Barack Obama’s behalf during the event and welcomed others to join them at 2:30 p.m. by Fonville Fountain.

“We’ll be knocking on doors throughout the town of Elon, reminding Obama supporters that Early Voting has started, and providing voters with rides to polling places,” Shutt said. “We believe that strong grassroots organizing, not big rallies, will make the difference in this election.”

Ann Cahill, philosophy professor, said although she has deep political differences with Palin she is fine with the university’s decision to host her.

“She’s a compelling public figure, and we’re on the brink of an historic election,” Cahill said.

Cahill said she would unfortunately be unable to attend the rally due to her class schedule.

“My first responsibility as a teacher is to offer my students the opportunity to continue their learning in our class,” she said. “Whether they do so, or attend the Palin rally, is their choice.”

Elon University administration announced it would adhere to the regular course schedule, despite the rally.

Palin’s “Road to Victory Rally” is scheduled during a hectic midterm week proceeding fall break at Elon. Many community members’ plans made it impossible for them to attend.

“Quite honestly, even if I were here and didn’t want to protest, I would feel like a bit of a hypocrite showing up at her event and appearing to be a supporter merely by my presence,” senior Amy Reitnouer said.

Reitnouer, an Obama supporter, planned to leave for fall break early Thursday afternoon prior to the announcement of Palin’s appearance.

“I can only hope that if Elon students do not agree with Palin’s, or the Republican party’s, positions they will have the freedom, and guts, to still stand up and protest,” Reitnouer said.

She said it was unfortunate Elon agreed to host the candidate largely due to her recent media popularity.

“I’m not interested in anything she has to say,” junior Andrew Pressley, who scheduled his fall break departure specifically to avoid the rally, said.

Communications Professor Ocek Eke, who did not reveal his own political affiliation, welcomed Palin’s visit to Elon as an opportunity to engage the political process.

“This is what makes democracy vibrant, to expose ourselves to all different points of view,” he said. “I have encouraged my students, whether it’s Palin, Biden, Obama or McCain, to hear everybody. Listen to everybody. Make up your own mind.”

Eke said he expects a mixed reaction on campus.

“We have to respect people regardless of whether we agree with them or not,” Eke said.  “I think that Gov. Palin deserves our respect and also our welcome. If people want to protest her, they should definitely do that respectfully.”

The College Democrats will be gathering at Fonville Fountain in front of Alamance at 2:30 p.m. Thursday to canvass support for the democratic ticket.

If interested in joining, contact Daniel Shutt at dshutt@elon.edu.

Clinton leaves impression on audience to spur change

After speaking for almost an hour about his experiences in the White House and what his wife, Hilliary, brings to the table as presidential candidate, former president Bill Clinton wraps his speech up.

The sky cleared to a bright blue as Clinton continues to shake hands—even though his talk ended almost 20 minutes ago. As students climb atop each other’s shoulders with cameras to get a better glimpse, the occasional student runs by screaming “I shook his hand! I shook Bill’s hand!”

Though the crowd seemed heavily Obama aligned before Clinton spoke, many cheers accompanied his statements of why Hillary should be elected.

“I’m telling you, she is the best change-maker you will ever find,” he said.

He talked about one visit he had to Ghana where he addressed 1,000,000 Ghanaians, but was touched by just one who stopped him on the tarmac as he was getting ready to leave the airport. As she pleaded with him, she said that policies which has been created by himself and Hilliary during his time in office gave her and 400 other women in her village a job, making it possible to send their children to school for the first time.

The woman gave him a shirt (what she now did for a living), and he said he looks at it everyday to remind him of what she said.

“The point I wish to make here is this: I love speaking to that million people, but that one with her shirt matters more,” Clinton said. “And that is why North Carolina should support Hilliary. Thanks and God Bless you.”

Twenty-five minutes have passed, and now he’s holding a baby.

For a full account of Clinton’s speech, stay tune to The Pendulum.

Clinton graces the stage

Susan Burgess, mayor pro tem for Charlotte, has now taken the stage. She addressed the antsy audience about her position as a superdelegate who has pledged her vote to Hillary, but soon after she started speaking she was cut short by Clinton’s appearance when he emerged at Powell’s doors.

Finally, former president Bill Clinton made his presence at Elon known once again. At 4:36 p.m. he entered in typical Clinton fashion, with a grin on his face and waving as he weaved through the oak trees in his suit.

Personable as always, Clinton first praised Elon, the community and its beauty. He is set to speak for 30 minutes.

Pre-Clinton speakers amp up crowd

Even with former president Bill Clinton’s arrival to address the Elon community postponed until 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, the crowd only continues to grow.

As of 3:30 the gates which the Clinton campaign said can hold 1,000 people was close to capacity, with more bodies spilling over into the surrounding grassy area.

Haggard Avenue in front of Alamance has been shut down for a period of time, while school buses and camera crews line the street.

Elon College Democrats President Emily Ballen spoke to the crowd, thanking them for their appearance and urging them to go out to the polls this fall—regardless of who they may choose to vote for.

“Let us view President Clinton’s visit as a reminder that very soon we will leave Elon and take all of our experiences with us into the real world,” Ballen said. “Now, more that ever, it is essential that we stayed informed.”

Since it is many students’ first time being able to cast a vote for the presidential election, she said it was important to participate.

“We are all part of a strong and educated community here at Elon,” she said. “The College Dems would like you to listen to President Clinton with a vision of the future. We are all active, caring citizens; let today serve as a reminder that we are the future leaders of America. We all have a chance to help our country.”

Alamance County Mayor Jerry Tolley asked for a show of hands for how many people attended the Clinton’s address at Elon College in 1992, then asked for students to raise their hands followed by Alamance Country members.

Hillary’s Field Director for North Carolina Mike Trujillo said the campaigns he directed in California, Texas and Pennsylvania were all thought to be failures, but his camp prevailed each time.

He said after Hillary’s victory was declared last night aroun 9 p.m.—where she won Pennsylvania to Barack Obama (D-I.L.) by 10 percent—the campaign has raised over $10 million. This broke every single fundraising record within 24 hours.

After proclaiming, “Pennsylvania told the world that Pennsylvania will always continue to be Clinton country,” he was greeted by a weak response by the crowd.

He also asked the crowd to text 442008 (44 for what presidential number Hillary would be and 2008 for the year she would win) and promised one random number that texted in would be selected. As Trujillo stood on the platform, he dialed the number and waited for someone to answer—the recipient, Nick, didn’t answer his phone. He could have won the opportunity to shake hands, hung or ask questions to Bill Clinton.

After about 20 minutes, Trujillo’s enthusiasm was one of the strongest still prevalent. After conducting the crowd to “Can you give me a H-I-L-L-A-R-Y! Who is your next president?” he received a mixed response of muffled Hillary’s with a dash of Obama screams.

Tossing T-shirts into the crowd, he’s continuing to rally the troops for Clinton’s arrival, which is still up in the air. He said in about four minutes the best democratic president in history will be out to speak. That was about 25 minutes ago.

:”When I say madame, you say president! You have to admit that feels really good, doesn’t it?” Trujillo said. Again, it seemed as though the Obama screams prevailed.