A Saturday to Remember: Biden's Visit to Athens

Sandhya Kambhampati 

sjkambhampati@gmail.com

@sandhya__k

My view from the media pen. 

This past Saturday, I was given the opportunity to report on Vice President Joe Biden's speech on the economy at the Athens Community Center.  

We arrived at the Community Center around 9:30 AM to set up our cameras and get ready for the speech.  Around 2:00 PM, we were back at the community center to see the room packed and full of energy for the special guest in Athens. 

The room was tiny and people overflowed outside of the doors. I thought it was interesting to see not only how many OU students were in the audience, but that people from Marietta, Hocking and some even as far as Columbus  and Cleveland came to see the Vice President.

Yvette McGee Brown speaking.

Ohio University alum Justice Yvette McGee Brown was one of the first people to speak. She spoke of how she got to her position today and gave a shout out to OU.

Brown pumped up the audience with her phrase “vote Brown all the way down”. 

After a few more speakers, VP Biden came on stage and the crowd began to chant "Obama-Biden"and "Move Forward Obama". 

VP Biden spoke of his last visit to Athens and mentioned how much has changed. The majority of his 26 minute speech consisted of analyzing the Republican party’s statements and what Mr. Obama is valuing most in his next term.

Based on the interviews I did, Biden’s statements about education and his personal experiences resonated the most with spectators.

During these interviews, I got the chance to speak with an 82-year-old man who has lived to see the differences in the elections.  

Like many of the other spectators, he was a strong Democrat who agreed with Biden's statements and had no question about who he was voting for in this election.

Overall, this Saturday was a special day for Athens residents and myself, as a reporter.

It gave me a sneak peek into the procedures and view the media gets at events such as this one and has gotten me even more excited for the future of this election. 

Check out my article on WOUB for complete coverage.  

Vice President Biden urges voters to move forward.