A light breeze moved the green leaves while the midday sun shone on the people voicing opinions in Spence Park at Texas A&M Friday as an estimated group of 1,500 people gathered at various times throughout the day.
In between the canopy of trees and in the midst of grass and mud, many national and state organizations with chapters, members and students made their way into the field from buses, dorms and locations off campus, some out of the county. They were carrying banners, signs and posters, exercising their freedom of speech. A&M's College Republicans were the overall organizers of a bulk of the protest with their "Hands off Texas" rally.
This crowd of many protesters and fewer supporters set up in Spence Park, about a quarter of a mile away from Rudder Auditorium, where President Barack Obama spoke about community service and honored 4,500 recipients of the Points of Light Institute's "Daily Point of Light Award"- the Points of Light Institute is a national volunteers organization. The scene at the park was similar to a Fourth of July picnic with people sitting on lawn chairs and blankets spread out on the grass. People gathered around the stage, located near the University Center parking garage, listening to country music before the rally began. The rally kicked off with the American national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance, to both the American and Texas flags situated on opposite ends of the stage.
The majority of the rally's attendees were older people. Some were focused on protesting against healthcare, others against excessive spending, but almost all with the word "socialism" on tips of tongues.
"We are protesting against extreme left, what the policies are moving towards," said Lily Wright, a member of the Georgetown Tea Party who commuted to College Station for the event. "We have seen history in the socialism in France and England and the Marxism. As old people, we have seen the trend and it is very scary," she said with the placard "stop the spending" in one hand and the American flag on a wooden stick in the other.
The make-up of the crowd began to change as the event neared, attracting bystanders to the cement wall by the University Center parking garage. The students interviewed by the area said they wanted to stay away from the protests because they did not want to be associated with the people in the park.
"They are voicing their opinion. But people out there don't even know why he is here. They are just protesting, ignorant of the fact that he is here to talk about community service. [The event is] not about politics," said Roan Vargas, junior international studies major, sitting on the wall.
Reggie Nubine, a sophomore forensic science major, sitting next to Vargas, agreed and said, "Most of the people here are not students; they don't go here. Look at the children coming in." In the midst of the crowd, flags of all sizes were flying with the breeze. The words on the flag read, "Don't tread on me." The signs originated in the Revolutionary War, said James Williams, the constituent of Campaign for Liberty in Austin,.
"It was with the protests against King George and in the individual public rights. We still want our own rights and Constitution. Not this socialism," he said.
Justin Lopez, a former student walking toward the rally said, "It is awesome, people expressing themselves. [There are] Obama supporters [and protesters] out there [engaging] in healthy debate. I believe there is a strong voice that needs to be heard. People coming out like this, people getting involved."
The crowd in the park seemed to like the calmness of the park, while the younger crowd grew in the front of G. Rollie White, nearer to Rudder Auditorium, with loud chants and signs.
A chant grew in the midst of the crowd, "Oh Obama, what do you say? How much debt have you made today?" Another student responded: "That doesn't even flow. You should be ashamed of yourself. Hey, we are cheering because Obama is coming."
The multitude in the area was unaware that on other side of Spence Park, the motorcade passed by, and hundreds of students caught glimpse of the president making his way into campus.
"It was amazing, I'm not a supporter, but that just changed my life. I made eye contact," said Matt Reynolds, freshman business major.
Some supporters within the crowd said the people protesting were being very rude.
"They are so obnoxious and are becoming hateful. We are supporters of Obama, yet we are here as a peaceful group," said Katie Taylor, freshman international studies major. Stephanie Stevenson, a freshman meteorology major within the crowd, said, "It's pretty cool. He has never been to Texas before, and now we get to show him how we feel."
Secretary of the College Republicans, Matt Miller said, "As the Texas College Republicans, the Republican organization on-campus, we felt in order to have a peaceful protest we needed to sponsor something."
"We didn't want it to be about campaigning. We wanted it to be about the public, to let the people speak," the senior agricultural communication major said.
Young Conservatives of Texas Chairman Justin Pulliam said about a particular issue, "People should be allowed to make their own decisions about their health and healthcare." He said, "We believe in the freedom of choice - portable insurance plans and increased competition between insurance companies. Healthcare reform should move healthcare towards the private sector, not the federal government."
A group held the sign, "Volunteering = Socialism" to be a satire of the protesters and just be "silly." Dan Kiniry, a former student who was holding the sign up said he disagreed with mostly everything protesters were saying.
"There are two dimensions to this," he said. "Only volunteers are invited to the event, and it is there to encourage volunteering. [The people] are protesting here against service. And talking about socialized medicine. Even though it will help a lot of people."
Caitlin Blocker a junior communication major, held a banner that said to respect the president.
"Today is a day to honor these people [volunteers], he is coming here as an honor to our University," she said. "We have to respect the one in office, whether you agree or not. If we don't show him the same honor, how does it make us look?"
A group sat in the middle of the park, holding signs proclaiming, "save the turtles." Students interviewed in the group said they wanted to provide comic relief to the event.
"We all congregated together because we all like funny signs," said Michelle Rice, a junior political science major. "It relates to the irony of this protest not connected to the protest."
Officials working on campus on Friday afternoon said the protests did not cause any problems.
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