NIU’s Central Park served as a political stump Saturday for two separate protests against U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to the Convocation Center.

Cheney was in DeKalb as part of House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s annual fundraiser.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., rallied about 100 Democratic supporters and encouraged voter registration.

In a teleconference Friday afternoon, Durbin said the Republican office’s policies have failed in Illinois, citing the loss of 223,000 Illinois jobs.

Durbin also attacked Cheney, former secretary of defense, for his support of troop deployment to Iraq.

“Why did we send troops into Iraq when they were poorly equipped and poorly prepared?” Durbin said.

Questioning the absence of armor on humvees, Durbin said Cheney must be held accountable to Illinois families grieving the loss of service men.

A second group of more than 400 people gathered at the park to protest President George W. Bush and Cheney’s policies.

James Johnson, a member of Rock Valley College’s Campus Greens in Rockford, organized the protest. The Campus Greens student organization similar to NIU’s College Democrats.

“I felt the protest would be a great opportunity for people to get out and say what they have to say against the Bush/Cheney administration,” Johnson said.

Armed with signs like “Don’t arm a son of a Bush” and “Restore integrity to the oval office – lick Bush and Dick 2004,” the protesters cheered and chanted along to the beat of tuba and drum players as they marched from Central Park to the intersection of Annie Glidden Road and Lincoln Highway, where they stood waving signs.

John Kerry and John Edwards campaign signs flickered in the crowd as well.

Although police told the group they could not march to the Convo Center as originally planned, many kept marching and made their way there, Johnson said.

Many of the protesters were there to speak out against the war.

“I’m very against war. I don’t like violence, and Bush is all about violence in Iraq,” said Melissa Owen, a junior special education major.

Other students shared the same view.

“The war in Iraq is unnecessary, and I think Bush lied about going there. We’ve been there too long, and I don’t think we need to be there anymore,” said Alissa Cargill, a junior history major.

Besides speaking out against the war, many of the protesters wanted to let the public know they will not tolerate Bush and Cheney.

DeKalb resident Steve Walt said the Bush/Cheney campaign is all about diversion.

“There’s a whole lot of things going on in this country that they don’t ever talk about. They say homosexuals are taking over the schools and corrupting the children; it’s like all they want is to divide this country in half,” Walt said.

“We want to show that Illinois is Kerry territory,” Kerry campaign worker Will Reynolds said.

Other protesters simply wanted to exercise their right to protest.

“I want to inspire people my age to see a different side, and to encourage students and peers my age to vote and express themselves,” said Lindsay Kusmierczak, a senior fine arts major.

Genoa resident Steve Veeneman traveled almost 20 miles to participate in the protest. He said anybody with a brain really should have been involved in the protest. Veeneman said he will vote for Kerry, but reluctantly supports him.

“I don’t trust Kerry very much, but if I don’t trust the people that are currently in office, my best tact is to switch them as often as possible,” Veeneman said. Veeneman also said he has seen what Bush and Cheney can do in office, and it is time to give someone else a chance.

Johnson said he was happy with the protest.

“It went really well; a lot more people showed up than I thought.” he said. “I told people, who told others, and so on. It was a really great turnout.”