Northern Virginia Community College once again played host to an appearance by President Barack Obama, this time on the morning of Tuesday, April 19 in a town hall setting in the Ernst Gymnasium on the Annandale campus. NOVA welcomed the recognition of being in the nation’s media spotlight again.

This event was the first of three presidential meetings during the week across the country to gather support for the president’s proposed solution for solving the federal government’s current and pending deficit over the next dozen years, in contrast to the recently-proposed solution by the Republican Party. Just the previous day, the financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed the federal government’s top-rated credit rating — but with a negative outlook. If the rating were decreased, it could lead to higher interest rates for government debt and for the U.S. economy.

The president led a formal one-hour meeting on his proposals entitled “Shared Responsibility and Shared Prosperity,” his alternative to the Republican Party’s plan entitled “Pathway to Prosperity.”

The event included an initial 20-minute speech followed by 40 minutes of answering questions from the audience, for which he took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves.

Afterward, the lean, charismatic president circled the inner portion of the meeting courtyard, greeting the audience and shaking hands.

The invited audience of about 600 was composed mainly of NOVA students who were bused in from the several campuses, plus faculty, staff and supporters. NOVA president, Dr. Robert Templin, and Annandale provost, Dr. George Gabriel, were also in attendance.

The festive, patient and expectant crowd, many of whom had been in their seats since 8 a.m., for the scheduled 10:15 meeting, became a little restless after the scheduled time passed. Led by NOVA students in the three newly-erected stands, the crowd began the traditional “wave.” After expending some energy that way, the NOVA students in the right stand began clapping, as if they were at a rock concert urging the main act’s appearance. The clapping had little effect and soon died down. Soon after, it was announced, “The President of the United States.”

President Obama entered through the curtains to a standing ovation.

The President greeted the crowd, saying, “Thank you so much. Everybody have a seat… It’s good to be back in Annandale. Good to be back at NOVA. How is everybody doing?”

From there, the President noted that both political parties see the need for a $4 trillion reduction in the deficit over the medium term and the need for some constraint in the projected large increases in government health care costs.

He went on to discuss his plan to get America’s finances in order. It was a plan for shared prosperity through shared sacrifice and shared responsibility. He discussed the reasons for the government’s large deficit and for bringing it under control, saying, “That means everybody has to do their part… We are going to have to ask everybody to sacrifice.”

He summarized his two-part plan as follows:
– For the first part,“cutting spending in a way that is fair and asks for shared responsibility.”
– For the second part, he said, “That’s why I’m here at this campus today. Even as we’re making sure that government lives within its means, we’ve still got to invest in the future”– in the country’s infrastructure, in education and in new technology. “We’ve still got to invest in you.”

Addressing education spending, of particular interest to this audience, he noted, ”We actually think that education spending should go up a little bit… We’re not going to reduce our deficit by cutting education and eliminating college scholarships.” He noted that more than 10,000 NOVA students rely on Pell Grants to pay tuition, with almost 3,000 at the Annandale campus alone.

He noted the extra funds freed up by his administration for more loans and better loan terms and is working with community colleges to make sure programs include the training and skills necessary for success, including working with the private sector and businesses to design curriculums “so that young people, when they go through (school),… they know there’s going to be a job at the end of the tunnel.”

On solving the deficit situation, President Obama stated, “And here’s the good news: I believe that Democrats and Republicans can come together to get this done. It won’t be easy. There are going to be some fierce disagreements… I’m optimistic. I’m hopeful. Both sides have come together before… like in the last four to five months… I believe we can do it again.”

As a final thought on his budget plan, President Obama addressed the crowd, including those watching or listening on television and radio, “I’m going to need your help. I can’t afford to have all of you as bystanders in this debate… I want you to hold me accountable. I want you to hold all of Washington accountable.”

The President urged the audience, “I want you to be able to talk to your members of congress and say, ‘Yes, I’m serious about reducing the deficit. Yes, I want limited government. Yes, I want reductions in spending,’ But I do think that we’ve got to make investment in basic research and infrastructure and education, and so let’s do it in a balanced way.”

During the question segment of the meeting, the president answered five questions, including three from students and one from a professor, on topics of education, health, social security, energy and bipartisan solutions. He answered each question and added his thoughts on associated topics and administration work in those areas.

For the event, the Ernst Gymnasium – in which the previous week NOVA students had probably been running laps, smashing badminton birdies and spiking volleyballs — had been transformed into the town hall setting for the president’s appearance. There was a raised platform in the middle containing the presidential rostrum, three student stands set up behind the rostrum, chairs about 10-rows deep surrounding the central stage to the front and sides of the rostrum and the press platform in the back corner of the gym. Large blue curtains were generously used to provide a more attractive atmosphere, and large American and Virginia flags were pinned onto the curtains behind the rostrum.

The three stands each held about 50 people, with medical technology students occupying the middle stand, a number of them in white lab coats to distinguish themselves from the rest of the attendees. The audience seated on the floor area was composed of a combination of invited students, faculty, staff and supporters.

For this event, the basketball backboards had been drawn up to the ceiling. Unfortunately for Obama, who is well known for liking to play basketball. Perhaps another visit could be made so the president could scrimmage with the NOVA men’s basketball team — just a thought.

On a final note, NOVA’s administration must be congratulated for developing the necessary planning and implementation skills to efficiently handle these presidential visits. To commemorate this historic visit, perhaps a plaque could be placed in the gymnasium to commemorate the visit by such a distinguished guest.

By: Arch Scurlock

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