Missing Hillary at Adelphi

by Melissa Pirillo

Adelphi has been having some  impressive cultural events in the recent past,  the visits of Joe Torre, New York Yankees coach, Frank McCourt, famous author, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Senator Bill Bradley.  The latter two were to prepare us for the upcoming local and national elections.  It seems like Adelphi University is doing all it can to better its image for the benefit of its students.  However, some of them feel quite differently about the subject.

The Hillary Clinton event was meant to bring a positive buzz to the campus.  Instead, it provoked much hostility from the student body.  Many complained that there was an abundance of high school students and a lack of representation from Adelphi's population.  Most felt that they were cheated, and that this event was for the betterment of admissions in the future more than anything else.  Nan Rokaw Gerson, Vice President of University Advancement, expressed a difference in opinion.  In an interview with The Delphian  she stated, "The genesis for this event was for the students."  She was very upset to hear that the after-effects of this event were negative, "I would hope some of the students would say 'thank you, do some more.'"  Gerson also stated that there was no student turned away from the event, even though there are students who claim differently. A junior, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated she was an avid fan of Hillary Clinton, but was turned away from the event, "I just don't understand why we have these cultural events, if not all of us can attend."  Gerson, however, stated, "No students were turned away."  The problem is the old "one word against the other."

Christian V. Vaupel, Director of  University Development and Promotion, worked with Vince Passaro, Director of University Relations, members of the President's Office, and others to spread the word of the event with the First Lady.  They sent a campus-wide voice mail to all students on Monday, February 7, 2000, as soon as they were aware of her arrival.  An e-mail was also sent out to the entire faculty and administration body on Groupwise, and to the Panther news-group,  which, however, few students know how to use.  The problem was even bigger with commuter students, who constantly feel left out and in the dark.  Vaupel and Passaro said that it is impossible to send universal e-mails on the regular student Panther account, and not every student is apart of it anyway.  They did take steps, however, to hang posters throughout the campus, and to inform the University Center Staff and the Office of Student Affairs.

By Wednesday evening, the guest list already included 700 people, which is the maximum capacity of the ballroom.  Students complained that they were not able to attend the event on Friday, due to the presence of others in the audience.  Christian Vaupel clarified this by reporting, "On Thursday night, staff in the Office of University Advancement made calls until after 10:00 p.m., informing students on the waiting list whether there was room for them in the ballroom or in the closed circuit locations."  He then went on to say, "Therefore, any student who had been on the waiting list and arrived as instructed to view the event on closed circuit, would have gotten to view the event."  What actually happened was that those present at the several closed circuit sites around campus, were later actually given the opportunity to go to the ballroom and fill the empty seats.

The audience that afternoon was made up of Adelphi students, Adelphi faculty and staff, Nassau Democratic Committee Members, and students from 12 high schools (a figure given by the High School program directors).  The reason the high schools were invited was the slow initial response from Adelphi, and the assumption not many students would be able to attend since the event took place on a Friday at 3:00 p.m. 

Another issue which was brought up to President Isenberg in a letter by Paul M. Hargrove, junior of the Honors College, was the fact that there were too many questions asked by the high school students.  In his letter, Hargrove stated, "When I was informed that Hillary Clinton would be attending and that it would be a student forum, I did not expect high school students, most of whom cannot vote, to have asked as many questions as they did."  He went on to say, "Our questions should have been given precedence over those outside the student body."  Gerson's response was that she tried to find Adelphi students willing to ask questions, and it was almost impossible. She also stated, "The high school kids were eager."

Gerson ended her interview with an apology, "If through the spirit of trying for Adelphi University we missed, we're sorry."