Although California could be saying “Hasta la vista, baby” to Gov. Gray Davis, College Democrats are trying to avoid the same thing happening to upcoming speaker George Stephanopoulos.
Stephanopoulos, a former senior adviser to President Clinton, was scheduled to speak on campus Oct. 7, but his appearance has been postponed until late October or early November because of an unforeseen scheduling conflict — the California recall election that also is scheduled for that day.
College Democrats President Alicia Pardo said she received a call from the Washington Speakers Bureau, which coordinate’s Stephanopoulos’ speaking schedule and said he is needed for an ABC special report on the election day.
“(Stephanopoulos is) a key political analyst, so he needs to be there for it,” said Pardo, a Communication senior.
The event was planned in April, long before the recall election became a national issue, Pardo said.
College Democrats still needs to find a location for the rescheduled speech, Pardo said, but Patten Gym is the group’s top choice so they can avoid having to downsize the audience.
Despite the complications, Pardo said she still has high hopes for the event.
“He’s been my role model since I was in high school and I’ve actually been the one who’s tried to bring him here several times,” she said. “The exec board laughs about how excited I am that he’s coming.”
“We’re going to have some really good questions to ask him,” she said.
Stephanopoulos now serves as the host of ABC’s “This Week” television program, where he leads guests in roundtable discussions of various political issues.
His experience as a journalist will add dimension to his message, said Ted Haller, College Democrats’ vice president.
“I think he’s going to add a new perspective to our political speakers, being a journalist now,” said Haller, a Medill junior.
Haller said he originally was opposed to Stephanopoulos coming to campus but changed his mind after reading Stephanopoulos’ book, “All Too Human,” about President Clinton’s first term and his 1996 re-election.
“Before I saw him as Clinton’s henchman, but after reading that he’s a Rhodes Scholar and a really brilliant man, it just changed my view,” Haller said.
NU’s political science department will co-sponsor the event and invite a select group of College Republicans and political science students to a question-and-answer session before the speech.
Pardo said that College Democrats tried to set up the event to include all viewpoints.
“We wanted to open it up to some more dialogue and show we’re not afraid to just bring people who support our speakers but also those who don’t,” she said.
