Students Pack Lottery to Hear Clinton

The lottery held yesterday for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech at the Kennedy School this Friday drew more than 2,000 applicants, meaning that fewer than half of those applying will actually be able to witness the first lady in person.

Although the Institute of Politics (IOP) only confirmed Clinton's appearance on Friday, word of the speech has spread like wildfire around campus, and students flocked to the IOP office yesterday for a chance to hear the First Lady.

In a first for the IOP, Clinton's speech will be broadcast over the Internet. The Kennedy School has been working with AudioNet, an Internet-service firm, to create a site on the World Wide Web where computer users will be able to access her speech in real time.

Yesterday's lottery was divided into five pools: undergraduates, graduate students, Kennedy School students, Kennedy School faculty/staff and University faculty/staff. Tickets will be allotted proportionately between the pools, based on the size of each pool.

"The lottery system is our standard operating protocol for large events of interest to the Harvard community," said Heather P. Campion, director of the Forum and associate director of the IOP.

Campion said that about half of the 1,000 tickets available will be awarded to undergraduates, who were best represented in the lottery with more than 1,000 applicants.

"Students entering the lottery will have the greatest chance of getting tickets," she said. "Roughly one out of every two or three students will get a ticket."

Results of the lottery will be disclosed by tomorrow morning.

"I think it's fair. I don't know much about it, but I assume it's picked randomly," said Susan Crawford, a first-year graduate student at Harvard.

Crawford was one of nearly 300 graduate students who entered the lottery yesterday.

"It's random. The undergraduates, graduates, and faculty all have a chance to sign up," said Jun Yong Um '00. "I figured there aren't that many opportunities to see her speak in person."

However, some students were not satisfied with publicity for the event. Josh D. Resnick, a second-year Business School student, complained that he had encountered very little advertising.

"A speaker of this magnitude should be publicized more," said Resnick, who did apply for the lottery. "We're falling short of getting information out, not just at the Institute of Politics, but at the Business School as well."

For those not selected in the lottery, there will be several chances to experience the event as it happens. The First Lady's appearance will be broadcast live to screens in Sanders Theatre, Science Center D and the Kennedy School's Wiener Auditorium. Campion is also investigating the possibility of coverage by New England Cable and C-SPAN.

When asked why the decision was made to hold the event at the Kennedy School rather than in a larger arena, Campion pointed out that at full capacity the Kennedy School holds 800 people. Combined with two additional classrooms equipped with monitors, the figure increases to 1,000 potential audience members. By contrast, Sanders, Harvard's largest indoor auditorium, can seat 1,100.

Also, Campion said that the Kennedy School "has been trying to get Mrs. Clinton here since 1993," so it deserves to host the event.

Steve Singer, spokesperson for the Kennedy School, said the IOP will use Real Audio technology to make the speech available as it happens. Also, pictures of Mrs. Clinton taken from a video-camera in the forum will be updated every 30 seconds on the Web site. The address is "http://www.ksg.harvard.edu.

Also, Campion said that the Kennedy School "has been trying to get Mrs. Clinton here since 1993," so it deserves to host the event.

Steve Singer, spokesperson for the Kennedy School, said the IOP will use Real Audio technology to make the speech available as it happens. Also, pictures of Mrs. Clinton taken from a video-camera in the forum will be updated every 30 seconds on the Web site. The address is "http://www.ksg.harvard.edu.