Despite being asked to hold its applause to the end, last night's audience could not contain itself when Tufts President Larry Bacow mentioned former President Bill Clinton as one of the event's speakers. The audience erupted into boisterous applause for the nation's 42nd president and guest lecturer of the annual Issam M. Fares lecture.
Moments later, as Clinton entered, the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center exploded once again as the audience rose to its feet in applause. With a big grin and a small hop in the air, Clinton turned and waved to the crowd.
Capturing the prevailing mood of the afternoon, political science chair James Glaser said after the speech that "for people like us, he's like a rock star." This was Glaser's first encounter with the president since the 1992 New Hampshire primary.
Students waiting in the short line to be admitted into Gantcher were eager to hear Clinton speak. "I waited for three hours on Monday for these tickets. I'm really excited to hear him talk about the Middle East," sophomore Taylor Spearnak said.
Neither the press nor students passed through any security screening points in order to enter Gantcher. But security was visible, as a Secret Service was onstage at all points during the lecture, and Secret Service, Massachusetts State Police, and Somerville, Medford, and Tufts police departments escorted Clinton's motorcade to Gifford House for a dinner following the reception.
Before arriving at Tufts, yesterday Clinton paid a visit to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman. Grossman, whose wife Barbara chairs the department of drama and dance at Tufts, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Clinton's presidential runs.
In attendance at the dinner at Gifford House last night was another Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Massachusetts Senate President Thomas Birmingham.
Clinton has largely stayed out of the media spotlight since Sept. 11. In his speech, he wove reaction to the terrorist attacks, prospects for peace in the Middle East, and US foreign assistance into a discussion about globalization. Though Clinton's demeanor ranged from serious to humorous, touching to commanding, he spoke at all times with his trademark charisma.
The crowd was silent as Clinton addressed the "deep human and psychological wound" from the Sept. 11 attacks. He said the country was "undergoing a sober sense of assessment."
Clinton's speech was free from the hecklers and interruptions that marred General Colin Powell's speech last year. Students seemed captivated yesterday, and one even yelled "We love you" as he exited the stage. Though the Tufts Republicans did post some posters criticizing Clinton's administration, they were not numerous nor conspicuously placed.
During the speech, the crowd voiced its agreement at the mention of the importance of diversity by applauding Clinton's call to go beyond tolerance and embrace diversity.
"We need to develop a global consciousness that deals with difference, not just accepts differences but celebrates them in the context of a larger human community," he said.
Calling for more friends and fewer enemies around the globe, Clinton discussed how globalization and foreign aid could be effective at reducing animosity of towards the United States.
He was even able to get a jab at Harvard University into his speech, which elicited hearty laughs from the audience. Saying that Harvard might never invite him back, he related a story about an argument between Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
"Emerson said they teach all the branches of learning at Harvard. Thoreau said all of the branches but none of the roots," Clinton said.
He then explained how Tufts' Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, which opened in 1933, represented just such a root. Founded at a time in which the country was isolating itself in the wake of World War I, Fletcher represented Tufts "looking outward ... when the rest of the world was looking inward."
Senior Kenny William, who admittedly "fell in love with the guy," said he especially was impressed that Clinton touched many issues of importance to students. He said previous speakers often skirted discussing important issues.
"Globalization and our role in the peace process are at the core of what we should be going for," he said.
Sophomore Britton Goodale said she most enjoyed Clinton's calling upon universities - especially international universities such as Tufts - to educate the American public about the need for globalization and assistance to poor nations.
"I'm really glad I went. I liked that he talked about educating the public, and directed it towards us," Goodale said.
Issam Fares, who founded the lecture series, spoke just before Clinton. He discussed his perspective on the violence in the Middle East and the effects of Sept. 11. While his remarks at times criticized world leaders for allowing the region to "drift in to violence," calls for sustainable peace in the region were met with applause from the audience and panel members.
