President Barack Obama’s speech at Henninger High School on Thursday drew hundreds of protesters to the site, speaking out on a wide range of issues.

Obama stopped by Henninger High School as a part of his two-day bus tour across upstate New York and Pennsylvania to discuss college affordability.

Several organizations gathered on Teall Avenue and Robinson Street, taking the opportunity to voice their disagreements with the government’s recent actions, from Occupy Wall Street to military drone use.

The anti-fracking movement had the largest presence at the protests, with picketers coming from New York City and Pennsylvania, hoping the president would listen to them.

Ray Kemble, a self-described former gas industry worker-turned-whistleblower, travelled from Dimock, Pa., to Syracuse. He carried a gallon of brown water out of his well, which he says has been ruined by hydrofracking.

“I want the president to see the water and see what goes on in front of my home,” said Kemble, who also plans on attending Obama’s speech in Scranton. “This is the first time he’s even been close enough to us for us to do anything.”

Multiple organizations participated in the anti-fracking protest.

One of the organizers, Alex Beauchamp of Food & Water Watch, said these protests have followed Obama throughout the upstate tour, starting in Buffalo.

Beauchamp said this persistence would be the key to the anti-fracking protest’s success, as Obama encountered the same issue along every stop.

Although hydrofracking opponents made up the majority, a few small pockets of other protesters were also present, including PAL-IS, a group that works for peace between Palestine and Israel in the Middle East.

Like the other protesters, PAL-IS saw the speech as a chance to directly influence Obama’s agenda, said Lana Hijazi, a graduate student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Hijazi came to Syracuse from Palestine two years ago.

The Syracuse Peace Council spoke out against military drones and the recent sentencing of WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning, also commonly known as Bradley Manning.

“We’re here because Obama has the power to pardon Manning and it’s pretty much our last-ditch effort. Obama is the key target for our group now,” said Sarah Eggers, a graduate student at the School of Education. “It’s perfect timing that he’s here a day after the sentencing. We were originally going to do a rally and decided this was the best place for it.”

Although Obama came to Henninger High School to highlight proposals for affordable education, only one picket sign mentioned schools.

Many protesters acknowledged that Obama’s speech addressed an important topic, but felt their issues should have taken precedence.

“How good is the education going to be if there’s no water for the kids to drink?,” asked Ray Kemble, the former engineer who had his water contaminated by fracking. “Education is good, and it’s important, but this is also an important topic. (Obama) goes to natural disasters, when there’s hurricanes, tornadoes or wildfires. Well, we feel (hydrofracking) is an natural disaster too.”

Published on August 22, 2013 at 10:46 pm

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng