The Virginia Informer

Last Updated:5/15/09 Section: News

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Media Credit: Alec McKinley Republican rally: Congressman Wittman spoke to members of the community at the tea party assembled to protest government spending. [Click to enlarge]

On April 11, the College Republicans held a rally on campus against high government spending. The gathering, which took place in the Crim Dell Meadow with an estimated 500 students and nearby residents in attendance, was just one of many "Tea Party" protests taking place around the nation in response to recent federal bailouts and stimulus legislation.

College Republicans Chair Thomas Chappell ('11) opened the event's speaker list that included State Delegates Brenda Pogge and Bill Janis, Vice Chair of the James City County Board of Supervisors Mary K. Jones, State Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, and Congressman Rob Wittman. Individuals representing the Fair Tax movement were also in attendance and spoke before the crowd.

In reflecting on the event, Mr. Chappell told The Informer, "It was so inspiring to see so many people of all ages and every walk of life endure the cold and the rain come out to this rally…The fact that nearly every attendee brought their own homemade sign and came dressed to this event shows how passionate each person at that rally was about [less government spending]." Following the rally, over one thousand tea bag postcards were sent by those in attendance to elected leaders in Washington.

Michael Young ('11), President of the College Libertarians, and Stephen Murray, a first year student at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law who served in the Navy, also gave passionate speeches before the crowd against high government spending.

Following the event, Mr. Young told The Informer "I believe that it is important for students to get involved in the tea party movement because we are the future and we will have to deal with the ramifications of these careless policies years down the road. [The event] was meant to show the politicians that there is no consensus, like they believe, on what the duty and the role of government is, and that there are still those of us who believe in small government."

According to Mr. Chappell, "College students should understand that it is important for us to take action to ensure that the America we inherit will be as prosperous as the one that we were so blessed to grow up in. This movement is about defending the American Dream by protecting our capitalist economy where hard work and success is rewarded and encouraged, not penalized by big government."

Editor's Note: Michael Young is a staff writer for The Virginia Informer.

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