I never knew that every time I walked up the steps into the Union building that I was retracing the steps of a very famous U.S. President.
The presidential election of 1960 could be considered one of the closest and most controversial elections of all time. John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were both on the ballot seeking the majority vote to be the 35th president of the United States of America.
Michigan State has a history of being a place for presidential election campaigns. In 2008, current President Barack Obama came to campus and addressed a crowd of thousands on Adams Field. Bill Clinton also found Michigan State to be an important place to campaign before his election in 1992. This October marks the anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s addressing students as a part of his campaign for the presidential election of 1960.
On October 14, 1960, President Kennedy paid a visit to the beautiful campus of Michigan State. State was one of his many stops in the final three weeks of his campaign efforts. As he walked out onto the steps of the south entrance of the Union, the MSU Alumni Association Magazine reports “…some 12,000 greeted him with the kind of enthusiasm that later generations reserved for rock stars.” Kennedy’s campaign was well received and he would go on, as we all know, to win the election over Nixon.