A charter bus spewing large quantities of smoke from its roof chased bicyclists dressed in Colonial garb around Grounds yesterday afternoon.
The students on bicycles were engaging in the Bike Ride for Energy Independence, sponsored by two University organizations, Students for Environmental Action and Student Alliance for Virginia's Environment.
The bus was painted with a large picture of President Bush and the slogans "Yes, Bush Can '04" and "I'm Telling the Truth." Dozens of spectators gathered on both sides of McCormick Road near the Chapel to watch.
Yes Bush Can is a national organization that masquerades as Bush supporters while satirizing the Bush administration.
The charter bus travels around the United States, often visiting college campuses. Yes Bush Can stages events to coincide with liberal rallies, where it acts out partisan debates.
"As of today, this University was founded by Ronald Reagan," the bus's megaphones blasted. "Renewable energy is not the solution."
A Bush remix of Usher's "Yeah" could also be heard throughout Grounds.
Props on the bus such as smoke and missiles were supposed to represent Republican ideology. Speaking in the role of a Bush supporter, Yes Bush Can Organizer Reggie Lamprey said of his charter bus: "We're not ashamed of gas guzzling."
Also in his Republican role, Lamprey's colleague Harmon Spellmeyer said, "All colleges are too liberal."
"We're not focused on death like the liberals -- we're focused on the future," Spellmeyer said.
Lamprey dismissed concerns about energy dependence, saying that liberals are too pessimistic.
The Yes Bush Can campaign mock-criticized the bikers, yelling, "These bicyclists are a threat to our national security! Today, Jefferson would be considered a terrorist!"
The bike ride was created to celebrate the annual Energy Independence Day and to promote awareness about America's dependence on "dirty energy," or energy sources that cause pollution.
Sam Krois, SEA member and organizer of the bike ride, said the University community needed to be more aware of the amount of dirty energy it consumes.
"Global warming is a real thing," Krois said. "It is very urgent that we take some kind of action to get clean energy. If we leave it up to the government, it's not going to happen."
SEA and SAVE are in the process of collecting signatures to put a referendum on the Student Council ballot next month that would propose clean energy alternatives for the University.
Krois suggested several ways to conserve energy, including driving less, using alternative modes of transportation such as bikes, recycling and turning off lights when leaving a room.
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