University of Iowa Campus, Students, Ready for 'Historic' Presidential Visit

Students on University of Iowa campus are excited to have the sitting president on campus on Friday, regardless of whether or not Barack Obama will get their vote come November.

Cyrus Graber, a 19-year-old sophomore from tiny Crawfordsville, IA, identifies himself as an undecided independent, which didn't stop him from waiting on line on Thursday afternoon to grab a ticket to the event.

"It think it is pretty awesome," Graber said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this guy in person while he is still the president."

The president, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, are all scheduled to appear at the event in the lawn between Jessup Hall and Macbride Hall in the heart of campus. It is supposed to begin at about 5:20 p.m. on Friday.

GOP nominee Mitt Romney will also be in Iowa on Friday. He will be campaigning at noon at Northwestern College in Orange City.

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A group of Obama for America volunteers had a table set up on the edge of the UI Pentacrest - an iconic part of campus where the president is set to speak on Friday - registering people to attend the event and vote.

Collin Cook, 18, a freshman from Fort Dodge, had been staffing the registration table for about 12 hours between Wednesday and Thursday, and he will attend the campaign stop as a volunteer.

"It is real exciting," Cook said. "It is historic that all four of them - President Obama, the First Lady, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, will come here all together. They've never been all together like this before, and it probably won't happen again."

Even people who don't support Obama said it is "cool" the president is coming.

"I'm a Republican, but it is cool that he is coming," said Mike Whetstone, 18, a freshman from Cedar Rapids. "If I didn't have class, I would probably go."

On Thursday, workers were laying the ground work for the visit. Orange mesh fence is lined up around the Pentacrest - a cluster of five historic building at the center of campus. An inner mesh fencing lines the lawn outside Jessup, where a stage was being set up.

A university spokesman said the White House asked them to be able to accommodate 8,000 people for the visit. University Democrats, a student group, are sponsoring the event, and some students will get a chance to meet the president.

"It’s always a wonderful opportunity for our students and members of our entire community to meet national leaders in such an up close and personal manner," spokesman Tom Moore said. "The value of such an experience is certainly significant and no doubt a real enhancement of the educational experience of our students."

Obama has been a frequent visitor to and Iowa City, which is perhaps the most Democratic part of this key battleground state. Iowa fueled Obama's election run in 2008 with a surprise win in the caucus.

The president made UI his first stop after signing the historic Obamacare legislation into law in 2010 and UI was one of visited this past spring to kickoff a push to freeze interest rates on student loans. And Friday, Obama will be back fresh off his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The campaign stop will add to the craziness on campus, with the all-important in-state rivalry game between on Saturday.