Chelsea Clinton visits MU

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Jan. 29, 2008

With the coveted Super Tuesday primaries only a week away, several presidential candidates have been passing through Missouri in an effort to reach voters before the Feb. 5 election.

Days after her parents campaigned in Independence, Mo., Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, addressed the questions of the MU community Monday morning in Memorial Union.

Students for Hillary Clinton organizer Denise Gilmore said she was excited about the participation of both Chelsea Clinton and the students and community in the audience.

“I was extremely excited about the turnout,” Gilmore said. “I was impressed with Chelsea. I thought she was very specific on the questions that were asked, especially targeting college students.”

Sophomore Trevor Turner, membership coordinator for the College Democrats of America, assisted with many of the preparations for the event, including booking the space, creating an event on Facebook.com and driving Chelsea Clinton between speaking engagements.

“She said it went really well, that people asked really good questions,” Turner said. “She was really impressed with Mizzou.”

The questions — taken mostly from the college-aged members of the audience — concerned a number of topics, from an explanation of Hillary Clinton’s health care plan to fiscal responsibility and the national debt. One of the first questions asked was about whether or not Hillary Clinton had any plans to make college more affordable.

Chelsea Clinton highlighted her mother’s experiences with paying for law school and being able to do so via direct federal lending. Her comments about her mother’s plan to get rid of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form were met with appreciative laughter.

It was not long before someone asked about the role of Chelsea’s father, former President Bill Clinton, in the campaign.

“His role in this campaign is to advocate for my mom,” Clinton said. “I think each of the candidates’ spouses at times have gotten particularly energized in advocating for and defending them and I understand that.”

Chelsea Clinton made an effort to put her personal experiences into her responses. When asked about the war by a young woman who had friends in the military, she talked about having friends who served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq.

Jae Chan Park, a student who is in Columbia to learn English on a six-week program, asked Clinton about her mother’s plans regarding ending nuclear proliferation and in particular the relationship with his home country of South Korea.

“For North Korea to have nuclear weapons is dangerous for South Korea,” Park said. “I was wondering what her policies were.”

Not everyone was satisfied with Chelsea Clinton’s answers to questions about her mother’s campaign.

Graduate student Michael Shulman asked Clinton about whether her mother has acknowledged the fact that she originally voted for the war in Iraq. Schulman said he felt his question wasn’t entirely answered.

Much of the response to Clinton’s visit was favorable.

“I know that Chelsea Clinton left a huge impression,” Turner said. “Most people probably didn’t expect someone like Chelsea Clinton to show up at the Starbucks at Memorial Union.”

Clinton’s visit is one of many visits that the presidential campaigns will be paying to Missouri this week. Gilmore said Missouri and its voters have always taken great care in preparing for elections.

“I think Missourians take the decision over their president very seriously,” Gilmore said. “I think they’re very informed and I think that people our age take it seriously. I think it shows in the candidates and their willingness to come here and hear what people in the region will want to know.”

MU College Democrats President Caitlin Ellis said encounters like the one Monday with the candidates or their families are important for mobilizing young voters.

“Once people have had a personal encounter with either one of the candidates or a family member of a candidate or someone campaigning and it’s targeted at the youth vote, it reminds people that their vote matters,” Ellis said. “Making that slight personal connection can make people see it in a different way.”

Chelsea Clinton also emphasized the importance of the youth vote, especially when asked about how to curb political apathy.

“I don’t think we’re apathetic,” Clinton said. “I’m here, you’re here and look how many of us are in this room.”