Chelsea Clinton brings campaign to UK

By Laura Chandler

The Clinton campaign trail is leading former first daughter Chelsea Clinton straight to UK, where she will focus strictly on students’ questions about the upcoming presidential election.

Chelsea Clinton will host an open forum at 1 p.m. today in the Cats Den, located on the first floor of the Student Center, making her the third in her family to visit Kentucky in less than a week.

Although the event is open to all community members, Chelsea Clinton will only field questions from students, said Nichole Stark, secretary of UK College Democrats.

“She will spend about three to five minutes on opening remarks, followed by about an hour of question and answer time,” Stark said.

The Clinton campaign contacted the College Democrats two days ago, and the student political group along with Student Government put the event together, said Sarah Short, an events coordinator for the College Democrats.

“This is extremely last-minute,” she said.

Chelsea Clinton’s Kentucky appearance follows those of her parents, former President Bill Clinton, who visited March 25, and presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, who made two stops in Kentucky on Saturday.

Chelsea Clinton, 28, has been touring college campuses nationally, and Stark and Short said this tactic could have a great impact on young voters.

“She’s closer to our age, so students may not be as intimidated to ask questions and get involved,” Short said.

Parts of Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform would directly impact students, such as her promise to lower interest rates on college loans, Stark said.

While the College Democrats helped get Clinton to campus, the organization’s work with the event does not signify an endorsement, Short said.

­“We’re pretty evenly split on who we support, but we support the idea of campaigns coming to Kentucky and our students actually having a say in elections,” she said. “We’re really excited because it has been so long since Kentucky has mattered.”