Business leaders and community members from in and around Syracuse are settling into their seats to hear President Joe Biden speak at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena this afternoon.
Some people showed up to hear Biden talk about the new chip fabrication plant. Some just wanted to see the president.
“When do you get to hear the president speak?” said Karen Bellows, a third generation construction contractor and lifelong Syracuse resident.
Hundreds of people headed into the arena for the invitation-only event, which will be livestreamed on the White House website. Business leaders, community leaders and politicians were invited, as well as some OCC students.
A handful of protesters initially gathered outside the arena and were later moved to the periphery by campus police. The small group was trying to raise awareness about conflict within Cayuga Nation leadership.
Sophomore MJ Thomas took up the offer to attend when he got an email from OCC. He was surprised that Biden would show up to this campus, he said.
Tashawn Folks (left), and MJ Thomas (right), both Onondaga Community College students, plan to attend President Biden's event at OCC's SRC Arena later today.
“It’s mad random,” said Thomas. He’s more interested in Biden’s stance on student loans and stimulus checks than Micron, he said, but still, “I just wanted to see him.”
Biden will be the first president to visit OCC in the school’s 61-year history. Air Force One landed around 2 p.m. at the Syracuse Airport, where Biden was greeted by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sen. Charles Schumer on the tarmac.
“This is huge for Syracuse,” said Wayne Wright, a caterer from Syracuse who was invited to the event by a friend. “I said, sure I’ll go. I just want to kind of know more about Micron...”
LaTarese Matthews (left), Wayne Wright (center), and Youlanda Hudgins-Johnson (right), all of Syracuse, lined up outside Onondaga Community College's SRC Arena to hear President Biden's remarks about the Micron deal.
“I told some of the younger kids that they should research the types of jobs here, take classes, and when they (Micron) open, get in.” Wright has a 25-year-old who he advised to do exactly that.
“He’s thinking about it, he’s thinking about it,” he said.
Another attendee, Mark Caruana, got an invitation from “out of the blue,” he said. A friend on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s staff reached out to him with an extra ticket.
“Having been a lifelong Democratic voter and having never seen the president, it seemed like a good thing to do.”
Caruana is the interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Utica. From his vantage point down Interstate 90, “it seems like there’s the beginnings of a tech corridor being built,” he said.
“It would be great to see this end of the Thruway corridor become a technology hub for Upstate New York and revitalize Central New York’s economy,” said Caruana.
Ryan Mayer, a music student at Onondaga Community College, and native of Baldwinsville, waits in line outside SRC Arena to hear President Biden's remarks about the Micron deal.
Ryan Mayer, an OCC student from Baldwinsville, also got a snap-judgment email, around 4 p.m. last night. “To be participating in this ... is an honor for me,” he said.
“We need something like this for Syracuse. We’re a struggling economy as it is,” he said.
Is he a Biden supporter? Mayer makes a face.
“Maybe, maybe,” he said.
“In today’s event, I’m putting all political differences aside. If I shake his hand, it’ll be an honor.”
Jules Struck writes about life and culture in and around Syracuse. Contact her anytime at jstruck@syracuse.com or on Instagram at julesstruck.journo.
Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.
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