aDespite multiple building closures, constraining construction and exhaustion from students who stood in line all day, a post-rally discussion attracted about 30 people to Memorial Union Tuesday night.
The Wisconsin Union Directorate’s Society and Politics Committee hosted React To The Rally to preserve the moment, director Mike Sakowski said.
“We want to give people an opportunity to talk to each other and process what we heard,” Sakowski said. “It’s fine when we talk to our friends, but at times like these it’s more powerful to talk to strangers.”
Although UW senior and WUD President Patrick Callan does not identify himself with any party, he described the rally as incredibly enlightening.
“I thought it was good,” Callan said. “It was great to finally hear Obama speak and react to current topics.”
UW junior Sean Becker and UW sophomore Beth Huang agreed that President Obama encouraged energizing Democratic space and carrying enthusiasm into the election this November.
However, not all participants fully supported all aspects of the rally.
Receiving a ticket to the rally, Callan said he would not have waited in line for four or five hours to attend it.
Many people thought the location was too cramped and Madison had more desirable locations to offer, such as the top of Bascom Hill or the Capitol.
“I thought that with the construction and the overall small size of Library Mall somewhere like the Kohl Center would have been better suited for the event,” Callan said.
Union staff member Jim Rogers also reiterated the importance of the need for students to become engaged and turnout to vote.
“It really does make a difference,” Rogers said. “There were a lot of excited students, and what really matters is that there are so many more discussions going on all around campus right now. They are not just confined to the Memorial Union.”
The discussion allowed people to exchange views on numerous topics regarding the rally such as the efficiency of the location, whether or not it was an efficient use of the president’s time, various voting and campaign funding issues and much more.
“It was a great discussion,” UW freshman Adam Seraphin said. “It gave a forum for both liberal and conservative ideas to form.”
Sakowski, felt the smaller number gave the discussion a much more personal feel.
“We’re more worried about quality, not quantity, and I think we had real, one-on-one personal quality here tonight,” Sakowski said.
