Former President Bill Clinton will speak at 4:30 p.m. today in the Gantcher Family Convocation Center on the topic of "Our Shared Future and Globalization in the 21st Century." Approximately 2,500 student tickets were made available for the event, along with additional spots for VIPs, the press, faculty, and members of the Senior Leadership Corps. The supply of the general tickets, which were free, seems to have been exhausted.
Many students waited for three or more hours to get tickets from the Campus Center and Dowling Hall Monday morning, some to find that they had arrived too late. Sophomore Alex Bailey arrived in the early morning hours to secure a seat for the lecture.
"I rolled out of bed at 5:30, and since my window overlooks the quad I could see people already walking down," he said. "It was quite an experience and a lot of fun just trying to stay warm and hanging out."
But not all students were eager to stand around in the cold weather for Clinton tickets. Sophomore Dan Cardinal said Clinton's lecture was not a big enough draw to get him out of bed.
"I didn't try to get Clinton tickets," he said. "That would involve me getting out of bed at some ungodly hour."
Bailey said that seeing Clinton took priority over some of his other activities.
"It's definitely worth it... I'm skipping a test to go!" he said. The event conflicts with several scheduled classes, many of which are taught by professors who have excused students with tickets for part of the afternoon.
The event will begin promptly at 4:30 p.m. but students must be in their seats by 4:20 p.m.
Clinton's visit is a part of the Issam M. Fares lecture series, which has previously brought speakers such as former President George H. Bush, now-Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to campus.
Seating for the Fares lecture was filled to capacity last year when Powell spoke.
