I first noticed something strange walking to my car after class this past Thursday. I noticed a few men, standing stoically about 20 feet apart on the sidewalk next to Willamette. I stopped, studied the situation and noticed they seemed to be guarding a man and his wife looking fondly at the Redwoods next to campus. Then I noticed more security around them. I stopped at the corner by my car and started calling my friends to see what was going on. This person was obviously important, anyone with five bodyguards is important.
With no luck on the phone, I stood gaping on the corner for another good minute or so before I noticed the running white SUV next to me. Also filled with overly large men in black suits, the one by the window seemed to be laughing. I awkwardly shimmied away to my car before performing a quick Google search.
A word of advice to anyone else in this situation: Go to Pilots UP. They have everything. 20 minutes could have been saved and I wouldn’t have looked like a stalker/assailant eyeing who I later found out to be US Senator (and President pro tempore) Patrick Leahy. He’s third in line for the presidency. THAT is why he is important. After realizing the fact that I could have a chance to hear such a high ranking government official speak, I scrambled to get my things together and rushed over the BC Auditorium.
Leahy covered many topics basing much of his discussion on faith and its role in politics. He was knowledgeable in a range of fields and after his main speech held a titillating Q&A session.
There is a huge advantage to going to the University of Portland and one of those things is the speaker opportunities that abound. It’s not every university that has a Supreme Court justice and the President pro tempore of the senate visit in one semester.
Take advantage of these opportunities. It is likely you’ll never have such widely available access to academic minds like this again. If you have nothing to do and can manage giving up an hour and a half of your day, listen to a senator speak and broaden your horizons.