Locals protest Bush presence in State College, PA (6-14-05)

(from indymedia.org) Marc Maxson 14 Jun 2005 17:53 GMT As part of a campaign to replace social security with private investment accounts, President Bush made a stop in the medium sized town of State College, PA on Tuesday, June 14th, 2005. [Video of protesters on Penn State Campus 6-14-05 by Mike Santillo.] Near the site of a planned speech before a gathering of high school aged Future Farmers of America, over a hundred local residents staged a protest of the president's presence. Ironically, the last-minute mobilization began in part at the town's weekly Friday Farmer's market, most of whom are current farmers, but not eligible to attend the president's speech. The gathering attracted a spectrum of local residents who felt strongly about issues ranging from Social Security to Iraq to Eisenhower auditorium on the Penn State Campus. The "official" slogan was "Ike was Right, Bush is wrong," alluding to statements of former president Eisenhower in support of social security, and for whose brother the speaking venue was named. While small, the gathering was large considering few of Penn State University's 40,000 students are on campus during the summer. Compared with protests in the past, the turn out was decent for a town of this size. [Video of protesters on Penn State Campus 6-14-05 Video by Mike Santillo.] [email protected]