By Jamie Smith, ECU News Services
Sixty years ago, a young senator running as the democratic nominee for president put East Carolina University (then East Carolina College) on the map for future presidential hopefuls. President John Kennedy’s visit in 1960 spurred political activism in our area. Decades later, as a university located in a rural portion of a battleground state, ECU became a destination for candidates seeking to sway voters. This attention has given students the opportunity for a front-row seat to democracy in action.
As a public university, candidates from all parties can visit public spaces on our campus and rent facility space bringing them close to young voters making our piece of purple heaven enticing. The pandemic has hindered the ability of 2020 candidates to show up in person, but it doesn’t mean the voters of this region are any less important.
Take a look back on the visits of past presidential candidates at ECU.
ECU was becoming a powerful venue for energizing the electorate and getting out the vote, one that candidates of either party might bypass at their own peril.”
-Dr. John Tucker, university historian, ECU Heritage Hall archives entry, Senator Barack Obama’s Rally in Minges, 2008
John f. kennedy
1960
Senator John F. Kennedy visited ECU (then East Carolina College) in 1960 as the Democratic nominee for president. After a few stops in Greenville, Kennedy’s motorcade ended at the college’s stadium, where 12,000 people gathered to hear him speak. He was the first victorious presidential candidate to campaign in eastern North Carolina. An audio recording of his speech is available through ECU’s Heritage Hall archive.
At the time, the stadium was located near what is now the Brewster Building, 5,000 students were enrolled and Dr. Leo Jenkins was chancellor.
Kennedy’s campaign stop at ECC brought the campus statewide and even national prestige. By the day’s end, it was apparent that ECC had coordinated the single-most successful and electorally crucial rally of the day…”
-from ECU’s Heritage Hall archive
george w. bush
April 12, 2001
President George W. Bush visited ECU a few months after being sworn in as president in 2001. He was the first sitting president to visit ECU and came to Minges Coliseum to promote increased spending on education and a trillion-dollar tax cut. About 9,000 people gathered indoors to hear the Republican president speak, and thousands more listened as the event was broadcast over speakers in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
While at ECU, Bush brought historic news by reporting that China had released 24 crew members of a U.S. Navy spy plane that had been held captive for 11 days.
These have been difficult days for all families, and they are a reminder of the sacrifices all our men and women in uniform and their families make every day for our freedom…. We appreciate them, we are proud of them, and we can’t wait to welcome them home."
-Bush, after announcing to the ECU crowd that 24 military personnel being held by China were heading home
barack obama
April 17, 2008
As a senator from Illinois, Barack Obama visited Minges Coliseum in April 2008, hoping to win the Democratic nomination for president against Hillary Clinton. Obama went on to win the nomination and become the nation’s first African American president.
According to ECU’s Heritage Hall archive, Obama explained to the crowd of mostly ECU students that he had decided to run for president because of “what Dr. Martin Luther King called the ‘urgency of now’… the country is at a defining moment in its history… .”
bill clinton
Nov. 8, 2016
The day before Election Day in 2016, former President Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to ECU's campus to support his wife Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. As word quickly spread that Bill Clinton was on campus, he stopped in front of the arches of Joyner Library, greeted the growing crowd, and took selfies with students, faculty and staff.
Donald Trump
July 17, 2019
In July 2019, President Donald Trump’s campaign had a rally inside Minges Coliseum in front of a packed crowd. This marked the second time a sitting president had visited the university. The “Make America Great Again” rally was one of the first marking Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign. Attendees began lining up at 4 a.m. and waited in the July heat of eastern North Carolina until doors opened at 4 p.m.
The appearance caused controversy when a portion of the crowd began chanting, “Send her back” in response to the president’s mention of four congresswomen, known as “the squad.” The chant led to negative national attention for the rally which also reflected on the university and Greenville.
joe biden
Oct. 27, 2008
The 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, visited ECU in 2008. At the time he was a senator from Delaware and Barack Obama’s vice-presidential nominee. Biden encouraged students to vote and support Obama outside Mendenhall Student Center.
#PiratesVOTE
Have you registered to vote? ECU's Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement's Pirates Vote works with non-partisan groups to encourage students to register and vote.
Credits:
Photos by Cliff Hollis and courtesy of East Carolina University, John A. Tucker and ECU Digital Collections