Barack Obama to visit Purdue for national security discussion

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:53:10 +0000

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s Wednesday (July 16) visit to Purdue University will require traffic rerouting on campus.

Sen. Barack Obama will visit Purdue for a roundtable discussion on national security.

Some areas near the Purdue Memorial Union will be shut down for security purposes, said Purdue police Capt. Tim Potts. The service drive just north of the Union will be closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic. The left lane of Grant Street between State Street and Northwestern Avenue will be closed to create parking space for media satellite trucks. Visitors to campus for the event are encouraged to use the Grant Street Parking Garage.

The Purdue Students for Barack Obama chapter is sponsoring Obama’s visit as part of an invitation-only roundtable discussion on national security.

Obama is scheduled to arrive at the Purdue Airport around 10:30 a.m. and then proceed to the Purdue Memorial Union North Ballroom where the summit will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Topics for the discussion, “Confronting 21st Century Threats,” will include issues related to nuclear nonproliferation, bioterrorism, cybersecurity and emerging national security threats.

The Students for Barack Obama chapter, which has about 150 active members, helped arrange the visit, said organization Vice President Ashley Rozier.

“By choosing to visit Purdue, Sen. Obama shows that he and his campaign are really taking Indiana seriously,” she said. “The topics of the discussion are very relevant to the community, state, nation and world.”

According to a news release on the Obama campaign Web site, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn will take part in the national security discussion. The panel also will include two experts on biosecurity, Tara O’Toole of Center for Bio Security at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. David Relman of Stanford University Medical School, and cybersecurity experts Paul Kurtz, a former senior member on the National Security Council and Homeland Security Council, and Alan Wade, former chief information officer for the CIA.

Lafayette Online » National Security

Barack Obama to visit Purdue for national security discussion

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