When Harold E. Stassen drew this crowd to the courtyard in front of Blair Tower on April 28, 1948, it was the first time a U.S. presidential hopeful had visited the campus in more than two decades. According to an article in PAW (May 7, 1948), a “carnival spirit” prevailed among the audience of approximately 6,000, and even an announcement that University President Harold Dodds *14 was confined to the infirmary received “good-natured cheers.” Stassen’s run in 1948 was the first of his nine unsuccessful attempts to win the Republican party’s presidential nomination. Can any PAW readers recall other memorable campus appearances by presidential aspirants?
