Cornell Students Line Up Hours Before the President's Visit

By Jill Kasparie, Reporter

In this Oct. 11, 2012, file photo President Barack Obama campaigns at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla. It's either candidate's race to win as Obama and Romney prepare to dig in for their second debate Tuesday night, Oct. 16, 2012, with just three weeks to go until the election and voting already well under way in many states. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

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By Rachel Begle

Story Created: Oct 17, 2012 at 6:47 AM CDT

Story Updated: Oct 17, 2012 at 8:42 AM CDT

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – President Obama is traveling halfway across the country to Eastern Iowa after the second presidential debate.

He’s set to speak at Cornell College just before noon on Wednesday. Doors for the 11:45 a.m. rally open at 9:15 a.m., but students started lining up to get inside 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The president's rally was moved indoors to the Richard and Norma Small Multi-Sport Center because of possible bad weather. Hundreds slept on the sidewalk in front of the building to make sure they get the best spot.

The president has spent a lot of time in the education scene, visiting the University of Iowa, Iowa State and Kirkwood Community College. This time around he'll focus his speech on the economy. Some Cornell students said they were concerned about the current economic situation, while others thought the president was on the right track.

"We're expecting for the national debt to reach $20 trillion if President Obama gets elected," Cornell College Republican Thomas Cooke said. "If he's able to implement the policies that he's talked about implementing on the campaign trail."

"If people just look at the fact that the economic crisis wasn't started in this administration and that most of the events taken in this administration have been very reactionary in fixing problems that have started,” Cornell College Democrat Jordan Welch said.

Maria Dogaru is a junior at Cornell College. She said the economic topic hits home.

“My father, I’m actually from Las Vegas, and my dad has been out of work for about three years,” Dogaru said. “It has really affected our family and at one point I wasn’t sure if I was coming back to Cornell.”

Tickets are no longer available for the event.

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