White House for a Day

Great Hall never looked so great. Red, white and blue 
bunting, flags, fresh paint and varnish, new bookshelves, 
carpeting, elaborate seals and in the center of it all -- 
President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and Secretary 
of Agriculture Dan Glickman.

The three illustrious visitors spent most of the day April 25 
in Iowa State's Memorial Union talking with rural Americans 
about how to make federal policies work better for them and 
their neighbors.

"It was an absolutely terrific day," ISU President Martin 
Jischke said. "For all of us associated with the university, 
it was a point of enormous pride that the president, the vice 
president, the secretary of agriculture and so many others 
from around the country came to Iowa State to discuss rural 
America -- an issue of enormous importance to both Iowa and 
Iowa State. It was a tremendous educational opportunity for 
many of our faculty, staff and students."

Where the U.S. president goes, his staffers say, so goes the 
White House and for the better part of the day, the White 
House wasn't 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but 2229 Lincoln Way, 
Ames, Iowa.

The transformation of Memorial Union to White House involved 
the efforts of hun-dreds in the campus community working at 
breakneck pace to ready the building and university for their 
moments in the national spotlight. In a matter of days, Great 
Hall became a warm, richly furnished TV set. Carpeting went 
down and television lights went up. Banners bearing the 
presidential seal were hung, and a special, semi-circle-
shaped table for dignitaries and panelists was constructed. 
Bookshelves, hastily constructed and containing volumes on 
agriculture, were the final, last-minute touch to the made-
for-TV setting. 

Security for the president and other officials was always a 
consideration, even in the building of the bookshelves, said 
Carol Bradley, director of governmental relations at Iowa 
State and chair of the team that prepared for Clinton's 
visit. The shelves were constructed without backs, so that 
they could be easily pushed out of the way in the event of an 
emergency.

Other rooms in the Union were outfitted for all the behind-
the-scenes activities that accompany a presidential visit. 
Cartons of phones, fax machines and computers were hauled in 
for White House and USDA staff and media. 

By the morning of the 25th, the Memorial Union, usually a 
cozy hangout for the campus community, looked a fitting 
backdrop for national affairs. Outside, Secret Service, law 
officers and dogs were posted around the building perimeter, 
and yellow crime-scene tape kept passersby at a distance. 
Only those with prior clearance were allowed to enter the 
building, where they passed through metal detectors and 
offered up bags and purses for searches.

Among those entering were conference speakers U.S. Sen. Tom 
Harkin ('62) and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, ISU volunteers, 
and more than 200 Iowa State faculty, staff and students who 
were allowed to observe portions of the conference from the 
Great Hall stage.

For more than six hours, with only two brief breaks, they 
heard concerns about rural America and ideas for improving 
it. Among other things, conference participants asked the 
president to keep the farm support program, put more money 
into ag research, promote wildlife habitat and wetlands, cut 
red tape for farmers and help increase farm exports.

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Contact:  Diana Pounds, Internal Communications, (515) 294-
4845
updated:  5-25-95