Members of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign arrived on campus Wednesday for a pop-up event to spread awareness about his platform. Volunteers were handing out posters and stickers before the event began, and there was a cardboard cut-out of Mayor Pete for photos.

There were several speakers that shared why they supported Buttigieg, and each had a connection to Penn State.

The first speaker was Marv McMoore., the National Youth Engagement Director for Buttigieg’s campaign. He was also the national president for College Democrats of America in 2016 and spent several weeks at Penn State organizing events.

Whitmore then went on to discuss why he supported Buttigieg’s candidacy for president, talking about Buttigieg’s platform on climate change, LGBTQ rights, and sexual assault on college campuses. He then discussed “Students For Pete,” a program designed to get students involved in trying to elect Buttigieg through canvassing and other means. The members of the campaign are trying to get a chapter started on Penn State’s campus.

The next speaker was Jessica O’Hara, an associate professor in Penn State’s department of communication arts and sciences. She talked about how Buttigieg’s father was her professor in college and made her want to pursue academia in the first place. She then went on to explain her support for Buttigieg, highlighting his plans to deconstruct student debt and other educational issues.

The next few speakers were freshmen on campus, each giving a different reason on why they want Buttigieg to win, from student debt to climate change to issues regarding women and historically marginalized communities.

There were about 40-50 people who showed up to the pop-up event. Organizers said that the reason the campaign is successful is because it is a grassroots campaign, and it is up to volunteers to help spread the word about Buttigieg’s campaign on campuses across the country.