The University of Iowa was host to President Barack Obama March 25 for one of his first speeches after signing the health care reform bill into law earlier in the week.
University archivist David McCartney reports that this visit was the second time a sitting president has made a formal speech on the UI campus. Bill Clinton delivered a 1996 campaign speech, and in 2008 George W. Bush toured flood-ravaged areas in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.
While opponents of the reform peacefully demonstrated outside the venue, Obama heard from an individual in the audience who expressed that the bill didn't go far enough to ensure universal health care coverage.
"This legislation is not perfect, as you just heard," Obama told the crowd. "This young man is dissatisfied with an aspect of it, which is fine. I mean, that’s part of what democracy is about. But what this is, is a historic step to enshrine the principle that everybody gets health care coverage in this country, every single person."
Following the early afternoon event, UI Hospitals and Clinics leadership expressed thanks to staff members and clinic patients and visitors who faced delays due to security measures that sealed off a parking ramp and part of the hospital complex during Obama's speech in a neighboring building.
Through cooperation with security and law enforcement agencies, UI Hospitals and Clinics staff worked to assure that patient care was not compromised at any point because of the visit. Hospital staff worked volunteer shifts as patient escorts to assist clinic patients on alternate routes to their appointments. Patients received free valet parking so that cars could be parked in areas outside the tight security zone. Local law enforcement and campus security worked to quickly get traffic flowing at regular levels, following the presidential visit.
Prior to Obama's address to the crowd of 3,000 in the Field House, several University community members participated in the festivities from on-stage.
The Rev. Marsha Acord, president of the UI Association of Campus Ministers with the United Methodist Campus Ministries through the Wesley Center, gave the invocation.
Jacob Rosenberg, a UI junior from Ames majoring in political science and ethics and public policy, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
UI senior Julian Vandervelde, a Davenport native, sang the national anthem. He is starting offensive guard for the UI football team and majoring in English and religious studies with a minor in Japanese.
Miss Iowa, Anne Michael Langguth, accompanied Vandervelde on violin. Langguth is a 2005 graduate of Iowa City West High School and a 2009 graduate of Harvard University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government, health policy and pre-medicine. After finishing her year of service as Miss Iowa, she plans to attend the UI Carver College of Medicine. She also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network and as an ambassador for the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory to promote public health and engagement in the sciences.
Intersection, an all-male, a capella group on the UI campus, performed several songs. |
