Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taryn Parsons at Taryn.Parsons@colorado.edu.
Emotions were running wild on CU’s campus Wednesday before the GOP debate even started. Protesters were aplenty, and not just in the designated free speech area. One particularly loud man could be found in the courtyard outside the University Memorial Center, holding a large crucifix, yelling at students about the Bible, self-hatred and other things that angered the students who came to watch.
In fact, the students yelled back. Some took videos. Some ran up next to him to pose for pictures. The loud protests from the students could be related to the high energy surrounding the debate. Some students on campus weren’t afraid to proclaim their opinions loudly. Others preferred to keep it to themselves and quietly watch from the sidelines.
Savannah Simms shared her opinion about what was happening on campus. “I’m so against Trump being here,” she said. “Do you know how much money they’re probably spending just having them here? It just pisses me off.”
Another student suggested that the religious protestor in the UMC courtyard was taking advantage of the energy on campus with the debate close at hand.
“They purposefully picked this campus knowing that it’s a liberal environment so they can get the most attention possible,” he said.
A Christian extremist speaks to a group of students outside of the UMC on October 28th, 2015. (Will McKay/CU Independent)
This was just one of the many protests that populated campus on Wednesday. The business field was completely dedicated to free speech.
Some students were just excited for a show, but it was questionable whether or not they would actually benefit from the debate being on campus.
“I think some people are more interested,” said CU student Miranda Meyer. “I know a lot of people, after they found out people are protesting, are coming back to watch. So at least they might learn something.”
Even though the debate aroused excitement on campus, it still made things difficult for a lot of students to get around.
“I don’t think it’s good for the school,” Meyer said. “It’s been really complicated this week to do stuff because of this.”
Meyer had to park in the Bear Creek lot on Wednesday because there was very limited parking on campus. Her classes for the second half of the day were cancelled because of access problems.
Those problems stem from the location of the free speech area. Important as it may be, the free speech zone is located right next to Koebel, where Meyer’s classes were.
Even with the inconveniences to students all over campus, the GOP debate sparked a lot of conversation and excitement within the student body. Although some protesters may have used the event to promote their own agenda, the students kept politics in mind as they experienced both the good and the bad sides of free speech on campus.
