Bill Clinton’s Visit to WT

Many WTAMU students were excited last night as they were waiting for Bill Clinton to step on the stage.  There were also people from all around the Texas panhandle, who drove here to see the former president speak.  People have been talking about this for days if not weeks, and the time was finally here to see it.  Looking around, you could see that everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of the secret service.  This just isn’t something that happens in the panhandle often! The welcome and the Introduction for Bill Clinton were both great.  Both speakers stumbled a little on their words, but everyone knew it was because an American President was about to walk on that stage.  Even the Student Body President and a member of the WTAMU faculty were excited for this, which made everyone in the crowd even more excited! But when the faculty member that gave the Intro said “I know Dr. O’Brien wishes he could be here,” everyone looked around in disbelief.  Was the president of WTAMU really missing an even this big? WTAMU donated $100,000 to Bill Clinton’s charity in order to get him to come speak at WT, and Dr. O’Brien wasn’t here to watch?  Now, I have no idea why he wasn’t there, but I have heard a few different rumors.  What do you think about the President of WT not being at the lecture last night? I’ve heard some say it’s tacky.  Some have said he is a really busy man.  According to Amarillo Globe News, “The Distinguished Lecture Series uses money from student fees to cover the costs of bringing well-known people who are also distinguished, or have an array of academic credentials, to speak at WT.”  Some people say that if our fees are paying for speakers such as Bill Clinton to come to WT, Dr. O’Brien owes it to the students of WTAMU to be at an event as big as this.  So what are your thoughts on this whole situation, and what are your thoughts on Bill Clinton’s speech last night??? I’m sorry if you missed it; it was inspiring.