UVA Students Excited For Obama Visit, Even If It's Not On Campus

Four years ago the Obama campaign sparked excitement at the University of Virginia, but UVA is in a more pragmatic mood this year. The school refused permission for a rally, and some students can't miss class to hear the president speak Wednesday afternoon.

In 2008, some observers called candidate Barack Obama a rock star, and many students at the University of Virginia still feel the excitement. Others, like Curtis Carlock, will make the three mile trip from campus to the downtown mall not to see the candidate, but to see the nation's commander in chief.

"I'm not going to be voting for Obama, but I still think it'd be nice to go see him, because I mean, he's the president," agreed Carlock. "It'd always be great to go see the president."

And then there are practical students like Miranda Hogan, who have prior commitments.

"I'm definitely excited, but I can't go to the rally, because I have to work," said Hogan.

The campaign had hoped to hold a rally on campus, but Marian Anderfuren, the university's Director of Media Relations, said the school declined because a visit on the second day of classes would have been too disruptive.

"We determined that hosting the president would have caused us to cancel 186 classes and close a number of buildings, and we were just concerned about that level of disruption so early in the term," said Anderfuren.

She also cited concerns about the added cost of security, a cost Old Dominion, George Mason, Mary Washington, James Madison and Liberty Universities have all born during visits from Mr. Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney.