Clinton, Gore Make Historic Campus Visit by Anne Dolan After a brief but blistering 10 days of preparation, Iowa State hosted the National Rural Conference April 25 in the Memorial Union Great Hall. In attendance were President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. Later in the day, Clinton and Gore obliged an ISU request with a special address to 11,000 students, faculty, staff and local residents at Hilton Coliseum. The Ames conference culminated seven conferences held around the country by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to solicit ideas on making federal policies, including a new farm bill, work better for rural Americans. During three sessions over six and a half hours, Clinton, Gore and Glickman listened to 30 panelists, as well as audience members, talk about housing and transportation deficiencies; the need for more ag research, particularly to find new uses for crops; flaws in existing farm support programs; inequities between farm production costs and market prices; the need to protect wildlife habitats; a widening gap between rural and urban America in education and communications technology and health care; and many other topics. Clinton said his strategy is to do no harm to existing ag policies, put more money into ag research and initiate a national effort to determine areas of responsibility in rural development. GREAT HALL LOOKED GREAT "It was an absolutely terrific day," said President Martin Jischke. "This university was the place where the nation's attention turned for an issue that's of enormous importance to Iowa and to Iowa State. "For a lot of people, it was a moment of immense pride," he said. The Great Hall was transformed into a warm, richly furnished television set for the occasion. Carpet was laid and bright lights were suspended from the large ceiling beams. Red, white and blue bunting was hung high on the walls and a large semi-circle desk was built for dignitaries and panel members. Carol Bradley, director of governmental relations and chair of the ISU team working with the White House and the USDA on preparations, said the effort revealed a "can-do" attitude among hundreds of university employees. For example: --Telecommunications equipped the Memorial Union Sun Room (transformed into a media center) with truckloads of telephones, fax machines, cellular phones, copiers and computers. Other rooms were equipped for use by White House and USDA staffs as the building became the White House for a day. --In the 11th hour, facilities management crews built bookshelves and the library provided several hundred ag- related books to fill them. The bookshelves served as a backdrop to the conference panel and were built with no backs to break away easily in an emergency. --The Department of Public Safety worked with White House Secret Service, Ames and Boone police and the Story County Sheriff's Department to provide security to the building, parking ramp, outside vicinity and the presidential motorcade. Bradley, who stayed overnight in the Memorial Union the night before the conference to coordinate late details, said she knew she was one of the safest people in the world that night. Much of the painting, varnishing and special cleaning done to public areas in the Memorial Union already were planned, but were moved up to accommodate the national conference, Bradley said. Other work and some other costs will be paid by the USDA, the co-sponsor of the conference. HILTON MAGIC REDEFINED The earliest arrivals waited nearly three hours for their audience with Clinton and Gore at Hilton Coliseum. But they didn't wait alone. The Iowa State Singers and the ISU Pep Band took turns entertaining the crowd, and if weren't for the patriotic bunting hanging from the balcony railing or the presidential seal affixed to the podium, the event could have been a Cyclone pep rally. The crowd stood and clapped for the Iowa State fight song, danced to a rendition of YMCA by the band and even sustained "The Wave" for two or three minutes. When Clinton and Gore arrived, with Jischke and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, the audience stood again for Hail to the Chief and the national anthem. Much of Clinton's speech addressed the importance of education, not only as a means to better wages, but to less stressful, more stable families. "Inequality is increasing among Americans with jobs. The middle class is splitting apart and the fault line is education," he said. Clinton talked of an education deficit, in which there are "millions and millions and millions of Americans who wonder whether they have failed, because as hard as they work, they cannot make it in the modern economy. "The only way to turn that around is to revolutionize the availability and the quality of education to all of our people, without regard to their race or income or religion," he said. Clinton reiterated his support of the national service program, in which students do community work to earn college funds, and the federal direct student loan program, which Iowa State helped pilot this academic year. He cautioned against cutting education opportunities in the name of reducing the budget deficit. Following Clinton's speech, the Iowa State Singers unexpectedly were summoned to a loading dock in the basement of Hilton, where the presidential motorcade waited. After serenading the presidential entourage with The Bells of Iowa State, the group launched into Betelehemu, a Nigerian Christmas song whose message is "we're so happy you are here," according to Robert Molison, professor of music and director of the choir. "The sound was reverberating off the walls and it was absolutely beautiful," recalled Jischke. "Out walked the president and he just stopped. He and the vice president were enthralled, transfixed. The students were singing their hearts out. It was a magical moment." Instead of continuing to their limousines, Clinton and Gore waded into the middle of the group for a photograph with choir members. _____ contact: Anne Dolan, Internal Communications, (515) 294-7065 updated: 5-4-95