Presidential pomp and circumstances

A historic event, the visit from President Barack Obama last week is still generating a strong buzz throughout the Dallas County Community College District.

Why Eastfield was chosen as the host is the most popular question being posed.

According to DCCCD Vice Chancellor for Public and Governmental Affairs Justin Lonon and Eastfield President, Dr. Jean Conway, the Mesquite community college was picked to host the president mainly based on three qualifications.

The White House was looking for a community college as the location for the president's speech. They also wanted a venue that had the capacity to seat at least 1,500 and a teacher education program.

Eastfield fit the bill on all three.

After all the hours of preparing for the visit, Conway said she was confident it was worth it.

"I think it went very smoothly and I think people were very excited and pumped," Conway said. "I compare it to planning a really elaborate wedding in five days. It was such fun to watch and be a part of this."

Strict airport-like security was in place. Drug-sniffing dogs and Secret Service agents searched attendee belongings and kept close tabs on the audience.

A momentous occasion for the DCCCD, more than a thousand people waited in line hoping for a seat. But not everyone was able to get in.

A lack of communication between a White House representative and the fire marshal prevented a quarter of the 605 student and faculty ticket holders from seeing the speech.

According to Conway, the fire marshal had previously worked with a White House representative to approve a certain number of people to occupy the gymnasium. While watching ticket holders enter, the fire marshal became concerned that too many people were being admitted, which is a safety risk.

The representative and the marshal reached a decision that more ticket holders could be allowed in after examining the gym. The representative then left to be with the president, who was touring the Child Development Center.

"Something happened between the time the representative believed he had an agreement with the fire marshal and when the doors to the gym were locked," Conway said.

"Once the president is in the gym, the doors have to be locked. It sounds to me like [there was] some misunderstanding and miscommunication."

Miscommunication regarding occupants wasn't the only issue at the event. Media outlets were told prior to the event that they would be able to live stream the speech. However, when it came time for the president to speak, all wireless access was shut off by the Secret Service. Whether or not this was typical protocol or if there was a threat is unknown, but many media members were inconvenienced.

Despite minor setbacks, the speech went on as planned.

Obama spoke with students and faculty as he toured the Child Development Center before addressing the waiting audience.

Obama's entrance couldn't be missed. One didn't need to be able to see the president over the waving cell phones and cameras to know he had entered the gym.

Thunderous applause and chants greeted him.

The main theme of the president's speech was his American Jobs Act. Obama hit hard on the initiative's key elements: lowering the unemployment rate, keeping teachers in the classroom and getting unemployed construction workers back to work.

"This bill will prevent up to 280,000 teachers from losing their jobs," Obama said. "This bill will support almost 40,000 jobs right here in the great state of Texas. So here's what I need you to do: Tell Congress to pass this bill and put teachers back in the classroom where they belong."

Stressing the importance of closing the deficit, Obama said that the current tax code is not fair and that middle class workers should not be paying more taxes than the rich.

He emphasized the importance of the middle class and explained certain tax reform proposals like tax cuts for small businesses and new tax credits.

"If we want to actually close the deficit, then you've got to combine the tough cuts with a strategy to ask the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations to do their part, to pay their fair share," he said.

The president urged Congress, particularly the GOP, to pass the bill without delay and the American people to support it.

The speech had a distinct rally feel. After shouting into the microphone at the end, the president exited the stage to a standing ovation, cheers and synchronized waves.

"He's a very charismatic speaker and the crowd was very engaged and on message with him," Richland interim president, Dr. Kay Eggleston said. "It made me proud to be an American."

Even after the president left the building, the energy continued to flow.

"Seeing him in person was really motivational and inspiring," Eastfield Academic Adviser Terry Wooten said. "The spilling of emotions kind of surprised me. People were a little more patriotic than usual."

While reactions regarding Obama's political agenda are mixed, there was mutual pride and enthusiasm over the visit.

"I think it was pretty typical of what we've seen him do on the jobs bill," former Richland instructor and current Eastfield government professor Cindy Castaneda said. "It's basically the same speech with the local flavor. I thought he was quite convincing in defending why his plan is not class warfare."

Many high-profile Dallas executives were in attendance including Mesquite Mayor John Monaco, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, currently the United States trade representative in the Obama cabinet.

The speech was over in less than an hour and followed two fundraiser luncheons in Dallas.