News > May 1, 2008

By Alex Osteen | Opinion editor

At 6:30 p.m. on April 27, Chelsea Clinton made an unannounced visit to a faculty member’s house on Faculty Drive as a campaign stop for her mother, only a week and a half after Hillary’s appearance.

Clinton supporters and undecided voters from campus, Salem College and from the community at large showed up to listen to Chelsea speak and answer questions. Only about a dozen students were able to attend the event having received a last-minute invitation from sophomore Zahir Rahman, president of College Democrats.

Rahman, a political science major, explained, “I was first contacted by the family, and was asked if College Democrats could find some undecided Democratic voters on campus to attend.”

“Since we had some difficulty finding undecided voters, we decided to go ahead and invite the Hillary supporters on campus in addition to those who had yet to choose their candidate,” he said.

Chelsea spent about an hour taking people’s questions and the next half hour meeting people one on one, shaking hands and taking pictures. Some of the topics she covered in the Q&A session included the senator’s platforms on health care, the general economy and foreign policy. The discussion remained mostly serious and matter-of-fact, although on occasion, laughter or applause interrupted.

Two local news stations, including the NBC affiliate, covered the event and took quotes from community members and students, but overall it was left private.

Nonetheless, the estimated 80-90 people in attendance literally filled the house.

In fact, those who showed up last filled in the little remaining space on the front porch and had to strain to hear what Chelsea had to say; the lack of public address system and number of bodies made Chelsea’s voice particularly hard to hear.

Despite that and the rainy weather, it is unlikely that anybody in attendance could deny the unique experience the event proved to be.

Will Geiger, sophomore history major, found the Clinton house party especially worthwhile.

“I went because I was still undecided and am registered to vote in the North Carolina primary,” Geiger said.

“I was really impressed how Chelsea explained how Senator Clinton will implement her domestic policy – particularly her health care policy which she is able to put specific dollar values on the various components. I will be voting for Hillary Clinton in the North Carolina Primary.”

Rahman echoed this positive impression of the occasion.

“The event was cool … both the host family and the campaign were very hospitable to the us, and it is great to have such loyal Democrats be so close to the university and its students,” he said.

As is the nature of political campaigns, Chelsea is constantly on the move.

She was scheduled to continue touring the Triad on April 28 with a planned stop at the Greensboro Children’s Museum.

With Barack Obama’s visit to the Joel Colisseum on April 29 and a visit to the university by John McCain on May 6, it must be getting close to North Carolina’s primary.