Hundreds of CU students waited patiently in line at the University Memorial Center Sunday morning to get a ticket to see president Barack Obama speak at the Coors Events Center on Tuesday.
The line wrapped around the UMC, from the front doors past the Dalton Trumbo Fountain in the back. Students stood in line for hours to receive their admission to the historical campus event.
The first three students in line on Sunday to get tickets to see President Obama's speech from left, sophomore international affairs and psychology major Marilyn Villalobos Rivers, freshman psychology and integrated physiology major Anil Arora and freshman integrated physiology major Olivia Myers. The three were at the UMC at 3:30 a.m. to ensure that they would recieve tickets, doors didn't open until 11 a.m. (CU Independent/Robert R. Denton)
Kelsey Crotty, a 19-year-old architecture major, got in line around 9:45 a.m., and hoped there would still be tickets left when she finally got to the front of the line.
“I’m praying that I can get a ticket even though there are so many students here,” Crotty said. “Hopefully they’re allocating as many as they can to students. Seeing as his speech is geared towards issues facing students, it would make sense to give as many tickets to kids as possible.”
Carleigh Maloney, a 19-year-old business and journalism major, said she decided the wait for tickets was going to be worth it.
“Regardless of your political opinions, you don’t get very many opportunities to see the president and I definitely want to take advantage of that,” Maloney said.
Senior psychology major Kyle Maiman lobs a bean bag on Sunday while playing a game of bag toss just east of the Euclid Autopark while waiting in line to get tickets to President Obama's speech. Mainman said he and some friends had been in line since 9:30 a.m. and by 10:30 a.m. the line had circled around the UMC. (CU Independent/Robert R. Denton)
Andrew Baugher, a 19-year-old physics major, said he wanted to learn more about what Obama stands for regarding student loans. They spent their time reading and studying to make the hours in line go as quickly as possible.
“I’m a new voter and not sure what political stance I have yet,” Baugher said. “But because Obama’s appealing to our campus and demographic, I want to take advantage of this opportunity to actually see him in person.”
Laura Osmun, a 20-year-old marketing major, and Jessie Muckle, a 20-year-old sociology major, said they were excited about the history the campus is making by hosting Obama.
“Obama is such an articulated speaker and I realized I’d never get an opportunity to hear the first black president speak again, especially for free,” Osmun said.
“I was so sick this morning and just wanted to stay in bed, but then I decided that this really is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wasn’t about to miss out on it,” Muckle said. “Having Obama in your own backyard doesn’t happen everyday and may never happen again.”
Doors are open from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Tuesday with the speech scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Megan.moran@colorado.edu
