"One-two-three-four! We don't want your racist war! Five-six-seven-eight! Stop the violence, stop the hate!"
Supporters of Michael Moore in the standing-room-only crowd chanted such slogans while waiting for the author and filmmaker to begin speaking in the Auditorium on Friday.
Event organizers estimated about 4,300 people attended the event, with between 200 and 300 people turned away. The official number of people in attendance was not available.
Residence Halls Association was one of the groups sponsoring the event. Among the others were the Black Student Alliance, the Council of Racial Ethnic Students and the Department of Residence Life.
"I'm like (Moore's) biggest fan," 2002 MSU alumna Breanna Spiteri said, adding she has all of his books and movies.
"I'm basically in love with him," she said.
At the event Moore spoke of reaching solidarity within the Democratic party, saying the most important thing is removing President Bush from office.
"I will go out and enthusiastically support whoever the (Democratic) candidate is," Moore said.
He also described his new movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11," which is set to come out this fall.
"It's about using the death of 3,000 people as an excuse to enact a right-wing agenda," Moore said.
MSU-DCL College of Law student Shana Molloy said she attended Moore's lecture because she's a big supporter of retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, Moore's choice for the Democratic nomination.
"I enjoy his films, his political stances - he's a funny guy," she said.
And Moore's audience wasn't limited to college students.
"I think he's really cool. 'Bowling for Columbine' is one of my favorite movies," said 10-year-old Alexa Springsteen.
Moore also touched on the importance of getting out to the polls in November.
"We've got it easy," Moore said of social activism. "All you've got to do is vote and bring 10 people with you."
In Moore's book "Dude, Where's My Country?", he speaks of different ways to bring more people to the polls. Mark Osterloh, a former Arizona gubernatorial candidate, attended the speech to back Moore on the issue.
"We're working on an initiative that would dramatically increase voter turnout," Osterloh said. "The initiative would set up a lottery in which voters are automatically entered by casting a ballot. The prize would be $1 million."
Moore spoke for about an hour and a half, after which there was a question-and-answer session. He answered questions for about half an hour. Afterward, Moore was available outside the Fairchild Theatre for a book signing.
Many people in attendance lined up to get Moore's autograph, and the signing went on until about 1 a.m.
