Wellesley shows its love for famous alumna

CNNU campus correspondent Johanna Peace is a junior at Wellesley College. CNNU is a feature that provides student perspectives on news and trends from colleges across the United States. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of CNN, its affiliates or the schools where the campus correspondents are based.

WELLESLEY, Massachusetts (CNN) -- When New York senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke at Wellesley College to launch her nationwide youth movement last week, her visit had the mood of a triumphant return.

Clinton, a 1969 graduate of the women's liberal arts college and one of its most famous alumnae, drew laughs and cheers from an appreciative crowd of more than 1,000 students, many of whom had been waiting in line for hours to hear her.

During the speech, Clinton remembered Wellesley fondly, calling her undergraduate years "some of the most exhilarating and formative" of her life.

Since early in Clinton's presidential campaign, Wellesley students have strongly supported her candidacy.

Just two days after she announced her intention to run, students formed the nation's first chapter of Students for Hillary -- which became an organizational model for the 120 new chapters opening this month at colleges in 37 states.

According to sophomore Maya Dolgin, campaign manager of Wellesley Students for Hillary, the group regularly calls upon 50 to 100 active members to volunteer at Clinton's campaign events in New Hampshire, where students participate in phone banking, door-to-door canvassing and fundraising.

Also, several Wellesley students serve as part-time interns at Clinton's campaign bases in New Hampshire and Washington D.C.

"I know that Hillary really values her time at Wellesley," Dolgin said. "She still feels very connected to students who go here. Whenever we go to an event she always comes over to Wellesley students to ask us how school is going or to talk about her time at Wellesley."

Applicants to Wellesley strongly associate Clinton with her alma mater.

In reading applications, "One of the things we often encounter is students who mention alums they admire, and Senator Clinton's name comes up a lot," said Jennifer Desjarlais, dean of admissions.

"The prospective students associate her with Wellesley and see her as a really significant example of leadership and of a woman being in a position of influence and power," Desjarlais said. "She's also been really dedicated to causes that are important to her, and those are qualities that resonate with students."

In the 1990s, during Clinton's second year in the White House as first lady, Wellesley received about 500 more applications than the average number it had received in previous years. According to Desjarlais, Clinton's candidacy is likely to produce a similar jump in interest this year.

"It's hard to imagine her visibility didn't have something to do with it. It's good news for Wellesley again to have her so visible," she said.

Some students, though, feel hesitant to support Clinton based only on her connection to the college.

"I think she represents the ideals of Wellesley -- that women can be, and are, just as strong and powerful as men," said junior Jessica Johnston. "But I've been a fan of her politics for a while. And I didn't decide to come here because of various well-known alumnae."

Jennifer Carne, a senior and president of the college Republican group, said Wellesley students shouldn't support Hillary simply because she's a woman and an alumna, or because her presidency might increase the college's prestige.

"I think Wellesley students should only support Hillary's candidacy if they agree with her politics," Carne said. "I don't buy into the argument that ... we should be completely self-serving and vote for a candidate to increase our own standings, rather than think about the good of the country as a whole."

But Dolgin believes Wellesley students can feel a connection to Clinton regardless of political leanings. "She's gone through this experience that we're going through and now she's doing something great -- she's affecting so many people's lives." E-mail to a friend

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