Tuesday, February 19, 2008
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University didn’t charge the Barack Obama campaign anything for the use of its Beeghly Center for a rally that drew 6,400 people to campus Monday.
It’s standard procedure not to charge any nonprofit organization for use of university facilities, provided that the event falls within normal working hours, said George McCloud, special assistant to the president for university advancement.
That doesn’t mean the Obama campaign didn’t pick up some expenses for the rally.
It provided the university with liability insurance coverage, paid outside vendors and union labor rates to bring in risers, build a stage and provide a sound system, among other things, said campaign spokesman Ben Labolt.
YSU did provide 20 campus police officers for security purposes and had about a dozen other campus people from various departments involved in facilitating the event, said Ron Cole, YSU spokesman. Classes at Beeghly were canceled during the day, disrupting some schedules.
Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and at Vindy.com