Demonstrators representing a variety of viewpoints assembled at the public viewing area, at the southeast corner of Big Bend and Forsyth boulevards, before and during the presidential debate.
The spirited group consisted of protesters against the two-party system, the current administration, and the war in Iraq, as well as advocates for the Bush and Kerry campaigns and Chinese spiritual movement Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong).
Other political parties such as Constitution, Green and Libertarian also convened.
While it was a day of much drama, the demonstrators remained peaceful in their approach; no major incidents occurred.
Although it had rained earlier in the day, the weather remained mild while the area was in operation from 4-9:30 p.m.
Signs, chants and drumming were prevalent, but more colorful modes of expression abounded.
A protest parade marched from Skinker and Waterman boulevards to the public viewing area, carrying papier-mâché effigies of a warmongering Uncle Sam; an elephant crossed with a pig; and finally a 25-foot-high grim reaper whose sickle blade read “Merchants of Death,” followed by a list of corporations on the sickle’s pole.
Among the other sights:
• To depict the police brutality Falun Dafa followers allegedly have encountered in China, the group featured a woman made up to look like a torture victim while a man dressed as a Chinese policeman gripped her by her hair.
• Some Bush backers came dressed as flip-flops to demonstrate their belief that John Kerry goes back and forth on his viewpoints.
• A woman in a black dress and veil wore a sign reading “Iraq War Widow.”
The “spin” tactics that have been so prominent in this campaign season were abundant at the public viewing area.
“Someone from Bush’s advance team called from the White House wanting to make sure there was a pro-Bush presence in the area,” said Sue Nickrent-McMurtry, the University’s director of event services. “Both campaigns called about this.”
In response to an e-mail campaign to boost the pro-Bush presence, a large number of the president’s supporters streamed into the area.
Around 5:30 p.m., the pro-Bush and pro-Kerry groups were shouting at each other across an open space reserved for Falun Dafa — who, undaunted, continued their meditations.
Just across Big Bend, amid the autumn colors of Northmoor Park, the “08” group, a loose coalition of groups protesting against the limits of a two-party system, held their own demonstrations. These featured folk and hip-hop musical performances, and speeches by presidential candidates David Cobb of the Green Party and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party.
Cobb and Badnarik later marched to Skinker, across from Lindell Boulevard, stopping traffic and yelling along with their supporters, “Open the debates!”
Cobb said, “I plan on crossing the police barricade, and if they arrest me, so be it.”
Facing a line of riot police with clubs and shields, as well as two buses full of reinforcements, the two candidates attempted to hurl themselves through the line and were arrested at about 8:30 p.m.