Spring Break
Mrs. Obama stops by SJSU
Hopeful's wife speaks to a full house at the Student Union on Sunday night
Andrew Herndon
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: News
Michelle Obama, wife of presidential candidate Barack Obama, spoke in front of an energetic crowd at the Barrett Ballroom in the Student Union on Sunday night.
She spoke about her support of public education, the need for better jobs and healthcare plans.
"You can send your kids to the neighborhood public school around the corner and be certain that they get a decent education like we did," Obama said.
Amid chants of "Yes we can" and "Obama '08" signs, she spoke of her and her husband's blue-collar roots.
"I talk about my upbringing because when I look at the life that I had growing up, it reminds me just how hard things have gotten for regular folks," Obama said.
Through anecdotes and personal experiences, Obama's message of last night's speech was for young men and women to aim for excellence.
"Don't ever let anybody tell you who you can be or what you can do," Obama said. "No matter what the outcome of this race is, we have to snatch the veil of impossibility off the heads of our children."
Some supporters stood outside the ballroom because the 900-person capacity was reached in standing-room-only fashion.
SJSU Student Club For Obama
Some students on campus have already decided for whom they will vote in the upcoming presidential primary.
Tyler Wood, a senior psychology major, has been an active member in campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama, his pick for the presidency.
"I think Barack Obama has the best chance of bringing the American people together," Wood said. "Even though he's a Democrat, he talks about bringing Republicans and Independents and Democrats all together to work on common goals, and that's pretty inspiring … ."
A member of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU, formed in Fall 2007, and Students for Barack Obama, Wood has been dedicating his time to supporting the presidential hopeful.
Wood and five to 10 members of SJSU's Chapter of Students for Barack Obama have received about 400 pledge cards from SJSU students promising to vote for the Illinois senator.
Wood described the members as "extremely dedicated volunteers."
Sarah Bronstein, a sophomore political science major and president of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU, said the club has officially endorsed Obama.
"I knew that most of us were voting for Obama, and I thought, 'Why do we need to kid ourselves?'" Bronstein said. "Why can't we just make a stand?"
"I think that our campus is really afraid to make a stand on issues," she added.
The Caucus hosted Obama adviser Richard Danzig at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library last Thursday.
Danzig spoke for almost an hour in front of about 50 students.
Danzig attended Reed College, Yale Law School and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University. He served as secretary of the Navy under former President Clinton, according to the U.S. Navy website.
Danzig raised topics ranging from China to the war in Iraq to illegal immigration.
According to Danzig, he wanted to be part of a campaign that could improve the current state of the country.
"I don't think that Obama is some incredible miracle worker," Danzig said. "One of the attractive things about Barack Obama is that he's incredibly realistic."
According to Danzig, Obama is more "authentic and psychologically healthy" than any one he's seen in a presidential race.
When asked about illegal immigration, Danzig said that Obama's stance was to halt the constant blame on immigrants.
"You got to stop bashing illegal immigrants," Danzig said. "They're not the cause of … our problems, either economic or security. They're kind of a stalking horse or red herring."
Bronstein said she enjoyed the speech and felt that his presence could boost Obama.
"I thought it was amazing," Bronstein said. "He used to be an advisor for Bill Clinton, so a lot of people would kind of assume that he would jump on the bandwagon of Hillary Clinton's campaign."
This was the first time that the club had a speaker, Bronstein said.
The Obama campaign called Bronstein, the Democratic Caucus' founder, to make the appropriate accommodations for Danzig to speak at the King Library, Bronstein said.
According to Bronstein, about eight club members have volunteered at the Obama campaign office.
Click here to hear parts of Michelle Obama's speech.
She spoke about her support of public education, the need for better jobs and healthcare plans.
"You can send your kids to the neighborhood public school around the corner and be certain that they get a decent education like we did," Obama said.
Amid chants of "Yes we can" and "Obama '08" signs, she spoke of her and her husband's blue-collar roots.
"I talk about my upbringing because when I look at the life that I had growing up, it reminds me just how hard things have gotten for regular folks," Obama said.
Through anecdotes and personal experiences, Obama's message of last night's speech was for young men and women to aim for excellence.
"Don't ever let anybody tell you who you can be or what you can do," Obama said. "No matter what the outcome of this race is, we have to snatch the veil of impossibility off the heads of our children."
Some supporters stood outside the ballroom because the 900-person capacity was reached in standing-room-only fashion.
SJSU Student Club For Obama
Some students on campus have already decided for whom they will vote in the upcoming presidential primary.
Tyler Wood, a senior psychology major, has been an active member in campaigning for Sen. Barack Obama, his pick for the presidency.
"I think Barack Obama has the best chance of bringing the American people together," Wood said. "Even though he's a Democrat, he talks about bringing Republicans and Independents and Democrats all together to work on common goals, and that's pretty inspiring … ."
A member of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU, formed in Fall 2007, and Students for Barack Obama, Wood has been dedicating his time to supporting the presidential hopeful.
Wood and five to 10 members of SJSU's Chapter of Students for Barack Obama have received about 400 pledge cards from SJSU students promising to vote for the Illinois senator.
Wood described the members as "extremely dedicated volunteers."
Sarah Bronstein, a sophomore political science major and president of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU, said the club has officially endorsed Obama.
"I knew that most of us were voting for Obama, and I thought, 'Why do we need to kid ourselves?'" Bronstein said. "Why can't we just make a stand?"
"I think that our campus is really afraid to make a stand on issues," she added.
The Caucus hosted Obama adviser Richard Danzig at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library last Thursday.
Danzig spoke for almost an hour in front of about 50 students.
Danzig attended Reed College, Yale Law School and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University. He served as secretary of the Navy under former President Clinton, according to the U.S. Navy website.
Danzig raised topics ranging from China to the war in Iraq to illegal immigration.
According to Danzig, he wanted to be part of a campaign that could improve the current state of the country.
"I don't think that Obama is some incredible miracle worker," Danzig said. "One of the attractive things about Barack Obama is that he's incredibly realistic."
According to Danzig, Obama is more "authentic and psychologically healthy" than any one he's seen in a presidential race.
When asked about illegal immigration, Danzig said that Obama's stance was to halt the constant blame on immigrants.
"You got to stop bashing illegal immigrants," Danzig said. "They're not the cause of … our problems, either economic or security. They're kind of a stalking horse or red herring."
Bronstein said she enjoyed the speech and felt that his presence could boost Obama.
"I thought it was amazing," Bronstein said. "He used to be an advisor for Bill Clinton, so a lot of people would kind of assume that he would jump on the bandwagon of Hillary Clinton's campaign."
This was the first time that the club had a speaker, Bronstein said.
The Obama campaign called Bronstein, the Democratic Caucus' founder, to make the appropriate accommodations for Danzig to speak at the King Library, Bronstein said.
According to Bronstein, about eight club members have volunteered at the Obama campaign office.
Click here to hear parts of Michelle Obama's speech.
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