Students from local universities and members of the Philadelphia community -- in addition to a few well-placed students dressed up as flip-flops -- turned out in full force to welcome Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to Hill Field Friday afternoon.
"NBC reported that over 40,000 people attended the rally," College senior and Penn College Democrats President Rich Eisenberg said, estimating that just over 10,000 participants were students. "We could not be more thrilled with the turnout. ... We were really honored that John Kerry came to Penn's campus."
Indeed, Hill Field was seemingly insufficient for the large crowd, which spilled out onto nearby streets. Best views of the stage, for those without a front-row pass, could be obtained at the Zeta Psi fraternity house, or on 34th Street near Starbucks.
"It's hard to set it up on the field so that everyone could see," Eisenberg admitted. "But people seemed to be enjoying it and be energized by it."
The enthusiasm was shared by many members of the audience.
"It's amazing," said College freshman and California native Jared Schachner, who is registered to vote in Pennsylvania. "Contrary to what the public believes, students really care about political issues."
And numerous volunteers were present to take advantage of this concern, registering potential voters who were in the vicinity of Hill Field.
Sales of candidate-related items also seemed to be booming, as certain groups cashed in on the crowds to drum up support for their respective causes.
The non-partisan "Disarm Bush" group, aligned with Music for America, seemed to enjoy significant business selling T-shirts emblazoned with a crossed-out portrait of President George W. Bush.
"Today, we're selling [T-shirts] with an anti-poverty group, Empty the Shelters," said Engineering senior Matt Scullin, who is leading the "Disarm Bush" group. "We're going to be selling the shirts until the election. Today, we might sell over 100. On a normal day, we sell about a dozen."
However, financial windfalls aside, the day was a prime opportunity for Kerry to clarify his stance on various issues.
"I really like his point on giving the tuition tax credit," said Andy Connolly, a graduate student in psychology.
Although Kerry did not solely target the college audience, students often broke into cheers throughout his speech.
"I thought Kerry did a great job of talking about issues relevant to college students and, at the same time, addressing topics relevant to the Philadelphia community as a whole," Eisenberg said.
However, not all the people present were supportive of the Democratic candidate.
"I thought it was a pretty sub-standard speech, nothing terribly exciting," said College sophomore Frank-Paul Sampino, vice president of the non-partisan Penn for Life group.
"There have been a lot of people who called me names, yelled things at me without giving me a chance to respond," said Sampino, who carried a sign with an anti-abortion slogan. "The important thing is to let both camps and the electorate to know that they cannot ignore the right to life."
Sampino was not the only student demonstrating near Hill Field.
"We had a group of about 50 or so College Republicans protesting Kerry and his policies, but more importantly, the real goal was to show support for President Bush," Penn College Republicans Chairwoman and College senior Stephanie Steward said.
Steward downplayed any link between the admittedly large turnout and support for Kerry's bid for presidency.
"The number of people who were out just came because they were curious and not necessarily because they were supportive of the senator," Steward said.
However, like Sampino, she said her group experienced some negative reactions to its demonstrations.
"We got a mix of responses," Steward said, adding that the crowd became more unfriendly at the end of the event. "The majority of the crowd who were waiting in line were not very supportive of our efforts. We had people who used profanity with us ... who tried to debate with us and who just tried to shout us down."
Nonetheless, there were also some who sympathized with her cause.
"Some of the people who were passing by [were] glad to see some Bush supporters out there," Steward said. "It was really encouraging to see such a good turnout on our part ... under the hot sun yelling until we were hoarse."
A few Republicans showing their support for Bush by 33rd and Chestnut streets were even encouraged by the turnout for the Kerry rally.
"It's good that ... people are interested in politics," Engineering freshman Jeff Boghosian said. "I just don't happen to agree with some of the people [at the rally]. I'm hoping President Bush will come down like Kerry did, but I'm not sure if it will happen. This campus is pretty liberal."
Undergraduates were not the only students attracted by Kerry's presence.
"John Kerry has a historically strong pro-labor voting record," said Joe Drury, an English Ph.D. candidate and co-chairman of Graduate Employees Together-University of Pennsylvania. "He's very strong on ... all the issues that matter to our members."
