ONLINE EXCLUSIVE BY JAKE BULLINGTON

PHOTOS BY JESSICA LYNK 

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, boycotting the main stage Republican debate Thursday evening came to Drake to host a competing event in support of veterans.

The Trump campaign gave out more tickets than there were seats, forcing security to turn away nearly a thousand people hoping for a glance of the current Republican front-runner. This also prompted an official statement from Drake stating that the capacity in Sheslow was dwarfed by the number of people expected to show up.

“Fire code limits occupancy of Sheslow Auditorium to approximately 700 persons,” Drake’s official statement read. “Therefore, based on our understanding of the number of tickets distributed, only a small percentage of ticket holders will be admitted into the auditorium.”

“I was absolutely frozen my toes had begun to kill an hour earlier and it hurt to walk,” sophomore Hannah VanZee said. VanZee waited two and a half hours, before eventually abandoning the line.

“I decided that Donald Trump wasn’t worth waiting for,” VanZee said.

Trump was expected to speak at 8 p.m., and spoke about 20 minutes past 8.

Several protestors, including Drake students, were escorted out of Old Main after interrupting Trump’s speech.

#Trump4Vets protestors being escorted out. “We love veterans, Trump loves war!” pic.twitter.com/RVuVjniQgX

— The Times-Delphic (@timesdelphic) January 29, 2016