Hundreds gather for anti-mandate ‘freedom rally’ at Penn State’s Old Main. Here’s what happened

With colorful signs advocating liberty and medical choice — with slogans like “Medical discrimination is discrimination” and “But ... science” — several hundred people gathered in front of Old Main on Friday to rally against the “oppression” of both Penn State’s employee vaccine mandate and such mandates in general.

Both the crowd and speakers, including state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-McElhattan, and state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, varied in their fervor and reasons for attending. But most simply wanted to get one thing straight: Whether you’re pro-vaxx or anti-vaxx, the vaccine shouldn’t be forced upon anyone.

“Nobody should be forced between keeping their job and making a medical decision they don’t feel is right for them,” said Kevin McKenna, a Penn State student and the president of the university chapter of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that organized Friday’s rally and which advocates for conservative values.

Still, despite the messaging, Friday’s event mixed in sincere calls for personal freedom with misinformation and hyperbole.

Tracey Stroup, whose bio says she has been in the health and wellness industry for more than 25 years, compared attendees’ fight to end mandates to the civil rights battle that Penn State football players took on during the 1948 Cotton Bowl, when white players refused to leave their Black teammates in Pennsylvania, despite bowl officials’ insistence. She also referenced the Holocaust.

“You know, we always talk about the Nazis and getting on the train,” Stroup said, alluding to Jews’ forced journey to concentration camps. “Do you think they all just jumped on there one day? It was a slow indoctrination, and that’s what’s happening to our nation today.”

More than 200 supporters of the anti-mandate message showed up around noon Friday, with the crowd gradually growing until the end. Another group, Lions for Liberty, co-sponsored the event with numerous members sporting T-shirts that featured a logo consisting of half-Lion, half-Statue of Liberty.

Neither the group organizer, nor four other members, agreed to speak with the Centre Daily Times or discuss their reasons for attending.

Mastriano, who recently announced he was forming an exploratory committee for a potential run for governor, caused a stir when he first arrived, as the crowd moved toward him for photos and handshakes. The longtime Donald Trump supporter — sporting jeans, a plaid shirt and a hat — also took the stage to applause and cheers.

He accused Gov. Tom Wolf of “murder,” for ordering COVID-19 patients to be readmitted to nursing homes, which he believes contributed to COVID outbreaks that resulted in deaths. However, nursing home trade associations in the commonwealth have told The Associated Press they are not aware of a nursing home that was forced to accept a COVID patient against its will, or that the order led to a death or outbreak.

The Justice Department announced in July it would not open an investigation into the issue for a state that ranks fifth in population but was eighth in nursing-home deaths.

“Facts are stubborn things,” Mastriano said. “Only a Democratic administration, enabled by a media, would get away with murder.”

“He should be in jail!” one supporter shouted back, while others clapped.

Friday’s rally was scheduled, coincidentally, for the day after Penn State announced it would extend its employee vaccine mandate across all campuses. Although the university repeatedly said during the summer it hoped to avoid a mandate, its hand was forced in the fall when President Joe Biden issued two executive orders — one which required all federal contractors to essentially vaccinate all employees and another that required employers with more than 100 employees to mandate the vaccine.

At University Park and eight commonwealth campuses, full- and part-time employees must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 18, or risk termination unless granted medical or religious exemptions. At the other campuses, which fall under the second aforementioned mandate, employees can instead choose to undergo weekly required testing as opposed to the shots.

“The university has made it clear that it is following a federal directive in implementing various COVID-19 requirements for employees,” Penn State spokesperson Wyatt DuBois said in a written statement, pointing to an online news release for more information.

According to Penn State’s COVID-19 dashboard, 85.1% of employees across all campuses have provided proof of vaccination. And, citing studies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the vaccinated are 8 times less likely to be infected and 25 times less likely to experience hospitalization or death compared to the unvaccinated.

That science is a big reason why other campus groups, such as pro-mandate Coalition for a Just University (CJU), disagreed with Turning Point USA’s entire premise.

“We not only support the current employee vaccine mandates, which include exemptions and testing options, we urge the extension of the mandate to include all Penn State students,” CJU spokesperson Valerie Braman said in a written statement. “Today’s rally was short on solutions and focused instead on partisan political posturing. We trust that our community sees through it.”

Anti-mandate supporters lingered at the end of the hourlong rally, posing for one large group photo on the Old Main steps before clamoring for photos with Borowicz and Mastriano. The two received the loudest applause, with Borowicz opening the events in Christian prayer and then giving a brief speech before introducing Mastriano.

The crowd might have reached its loudest when McKenna, the emcee of sorts, led them in a chant. With young and old holding signs that read “I call the shots” and “Lions Not Sheep,” McKenna asked them to repeat the same phrase after every question he asked.

Are you tired of feeling underappreciated for your hard work?

We are!

Are you tired of having them judge you for your religious sincerity?

We are!

Are you ready to live as free people!

We are!

Borowicz declined to speak directly to the CDT. But, to the crowd, she said they’re not necessarily anti-vaxx — they’re “anti-force.”

“We are anti-force of a government telling us what to do with our bodies,” said Borowicz, the prime sponsor of a bill to ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected.

“So stand up!”