By Brandon Hunt

The usual Monday morning scene on the normally quiet Clark University campus includes groups of students in sweatpants carrying extra large coffees and trudging along to their early classes undoubtedly still very much in weekend mode. But February 4 was no normal Monday morning on campus (and not just because it was right after the epic Giants-Patriots Super Bowl).

Why?

Because on this Monday, just one day before MA residents were set to go to the polls for the Super Tuesday primaries, Clark students and faculty members ~ side by side with other young students and older residents from all over Central MA ~ welcomed Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton for a rally at Clark’s Kneller Athletic Center. The majority of Clark students, Hillary supporters or not, got to forget about their usual Monday morning classes (book bags weren’t even allowed into the gym for security reasons) and witness an event with national political significance.

Rally goers began lining up outside of Kneller as early as 10 am. Clarkies are known to complain about the gym being “too crowded” if there’s a five minute wait for the treadmills, but Hillary’s visit drew approximately 3,500 people (Clark itself has an undergraduate population of only roughly 2,200) who were willing to stand in the extremely long line that stretched from the Kneller’s entrance on Downing St. to about half a block away on Main St.

Despite the line, those who made it out to see Hillary maintained a high level of enthusiasm throughout the early morning. After all, a legitimate potential presidential candidate was about to speak at our small university in Worcester just a day before the primaries!

Having never attended a political rally before, I was in awe of my surreal surroundings. There were Secret Service men walking around (easily identifiable by their stereotypical ear pieces), cameramen and reporters from major TV stations, and of course several of the token politically conscious “Clark hippies” walking around cursing at anybody who did not agree with their views. Waiting for Hillary to take the stage felt like being at a concert just moments before the band comes on ~ pure anticipation.

The only problem was that it wasn’t just merely moments before Hillary took the microphone. It wasn’t even tens of minutes. For a total of three hours, a slew of other politicians spoke on her behalf. While they were passionate enough about their allegiance to Hillary, I found myself hoping to no avail for a Howard Dean like “Yahoo!” to get the people going. In between speeches, Clark’s a capella group The Clark Bars did their best to entertain the masses. Unfortunately, their efforts were mostly in vain and people grew bored as word circulated that Hillary was running (obviously) several hours late. At one point, the elderly woman next to me actually fell asleep on her feet. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I was proven wrong; Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream” came over the loudspeakers just to remind Patriots fans of the previous night’s Super Bowl debacle that we were trying our best to forget.

It was around 2:30 when Hillary finally took the stage. Standing in front of a giant American flag and members of Clark’s Student Council, Hillary spoke about how important it is on Super Tuesday for youth to vote her the Democratic candidate; she would then have the chance to correct the many mistakes made by the Bush administration and become the “President who stands up for the American people again.” Unfortunately, many of those young people in the Kneller Center that day were tired from waiting for so long and neither Hillary’s bright yellow suit nor her political ideals could reignite the initial enthusiasm they’d had earlier. But despite the extended period of non-Hillary time, the experience was still an unforgettable one for me, not to mention an historical one overall. It certainly made for an interesting Monday morning on the Clark campus.

Hillary Verbatim:

Referencing the Super Bowl rivalry: “People from New York and Massachusetts can be on the same team…Pats and Giants fans can be on the winning team.”

On the Bush Administration: “…a detour from America’s destiny…”

On the middle class: “…the backbone of the ‘American Dream…” “[for them] healthcare as a moral right.”

On America: “America has invented the future. We are the innovation nation.”

On the high cost of education: “[a generation of young people] putting their education on their credit cards.”