by Jane Moss
Robert E. Diamond Professor of
Women's Studies and French

In January 1992, Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Colby during a statewide tour to kick off the Clinton presidential campaign. David Leavy, a Colby senior at the time, was working for the Clintons, and when he learned that I was a Wellesley College classmate of Hillary's, he asked me to play host to the event. I was delighted, since I had known Hillary fairly well when we lived for two years in the same small dormitory. I was proud to present her as an outstanding lawyer, a longtime advocate for children's rights and the architect of Arkansas's educational reform. At the end of my introduction, I urged the Colby community to vote for Bill Clinton in the Maine caucuses so that I could fulfill my dream of attending my 25th college reunion at the White House. Everyone laughed, but I was only half joking.

On February 3 my dream came true when I joined more than 300 of my 1969 Wellesley classmates in accepting an invitation to the White House. A loyal alumna and student government president during our college years, Hillary was disappointed when her duties as First Lady prevented her from attending our 25th reunion last June. (She had been in Europe for the commemoration of the Normandy invasion.) If she couldn't go to the reunion, she decided, she would bring the reunion to her.

Since a White House class reunion is a once-in-a-lifetime event, classmates flew in from France, England, Cameroon, Pakistan, Canada, Puerto Rico and all over the United States. Many of us wanted to be there to show our support for a longtime friend whom we admire greatly for her intelligence, thoughtfulness, courage and sense of humor.

Arriving at the White House for our reception (paid for by the class treasury, not the taxpayers), we all were impressed by the imposing size, grace and beauty of the building. We all were too busy greeting old friends to notice much as we passed through security checks and followed long corridors to the wing where public receptions are held. Herded upstairs by polite young guides and military escorts, we were greeted by music from a marine band in full dress uniforms. For three hours, we wandered about the rooms where presidential news conferences and formal receptions are held, sipping drinks, sampling hors d'oeuvre and lying to each other about how little we had changed.

The highlight of the afternoon was being greeted individually by Hillary in the Diplomatic Reception Room, a charming oval room presided over by a portrait of George Washington. The First Lady greeted each classmate, chatted for a few minutes and then posed for an official photograph. When it was my turn, Hillary hugged me and immediately started talking about her visit to Colby three years ago. She wanted to tell me that David Leavy, the young man who arranged the campaign visit, now works in the White House. I invited her to return to Colby during the next campaign and she promised to keep it in mind. An aide asked us to smile for the camera and in a flash I had said goodbye and been ushered into an adjoining room with impressive displays of White House china sets. As my friends and I walked (or rather floated) back to the main reception, we all agreed that Hillary was a gracious and beautiful First Lady.

The other reunion events were equally impressive. On Friday morning at the Old Executive Office Building, classmates were briefed on public policy issues affecting women by Attorney General Janet Reno, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Deputy Education Secretary Madeline Kunin, U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright and Assistant to the President Alexis Herman. At the World Bank building on Saturday, we listened to discussion on "Outlook 2000: What We Need to Know" by two panels of classmates working in business, higher education, television, government and health professions.

The second highlight of the reunion weekend was the class dinner at the Mayflower Hotel. We knew that Hillary would be in attendance, but when the president arrived with her, the cheering was ecstatic. The First Couple mingled with classmates and spouses, shook hands, hugged old friends, signed autographs for the children of classmates and generally joined in the fun of a college reunion. When he took to the podium for a few brief words, the president told us how sorry Hillary had been to miss the June reunion and thanked us all for making her so happy by bringing a Wellesley '69 reunion to the White House.

Believe me, we were happy to oblige. It was a thrilling experience none of us will forget.