Last spring I was one of the first individuals in the doors of Hendricks Chapel when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited campus. As a student studying international relations and an admirer of Clinton, several hours of waiting in the cold rain was a justifiable price to pay.

When I passed through security and made my way into the auditorium, I was dismayed to find that, save for the last few rows, the entire middle section was partitioned off for “VIP” guests. Students and faculty alike had to fight for already limited seating in the periphery sections or in the balcony.

As the auditorium filled and the time for Clinton’s appearance was looming, I observed that the “VIP” section was not filled to capacity. While students and faculty were being turned away from the door, parts of the VIP section remained vacant.

This week, a special peace conference was announced in which the Dalai Lama, Ann Curry, Dave Matthews and an assortment of other notable guests will be on campus. It is without question that this conference will be an extraordinary learning opportunity for a variety of students on campus. Chancellor Nancy Cantor implored the Class of 2016 to engage the global community at last weekend’s welcome convocation, and in October, we will all have a unique opportunity to do just that.

Although the university has promised closed-circuit television screenings of the event, I hope that this opportunity is made available to students and not just “special friends” of the university.

After all, I have not spent the last three years engaging in Scholarship in Action just to be relegated to the sidelines.

Amanda Claypool
Class of 2013
International relations, political science and history major