President Clinton’s visit to SIUC has as much to do with campaigning for re-election as it does campaigning for student aid, SIUC and other political analysts say.

With the presidential campaign coming up, Clinton may be beginning his campaign trail early, analysts said.

David Derge, a professor of political science, said anyone running for the presidency traditionally comes to Southern Illinois because Illinois is a competitive two-party state.

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Illinois has 22 electoral votes and Southern Illinois may trip the ballots, Derge said.

The Electoral College is made up of electors chosen by states and legislatures to select the president. The number of electoral votes in a state is equal to the amount of representation a state has in Congress. Whoever gets the majority of the votes wins the election.

In the Electoral College, a presidential candidate needs 270 out of 538 electoral votes to win and according to Derge, Illinois cannot be ignored while a candidate is campaigning.

A political writer for the Chicago Tribune, Bill Neikirk, said Clinton’s primary concern at SIUC will be campaigning for re-election because Illinois is a key state.

The education and student aid theme to Clinton’s speech is not new, Neikirk said. When Clinton comes to town, the White House is counting on him being heard all throughout Southern Illinois and St. Louis. The president’s words get around.

Another good reason for the president to come here is because Jackson County has consistently voted Democrat, Derge said.

As long as I can remember, there has been a presence of the president down here, he said. In 1972, Jackson County was the only county in the state of Illinois to vote for George McGovern.

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McGovern ran against Republican candidate, Richard Nixon, in the 1972 presidential election in which Nixon won.

John Jackson, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said it would seem appropriate if Clinton would make a national announcement concerning the Direct Student Loan Program.

I think everything Clinton does from this point is campaigning, Jackson said.

However, Laura Schwartz, a spokeswoman for White House affairs, said Clinton is only visiting SIUC for official reasons.

There are no campaigning trips, Schwartz said. This is an official trip for the president.

Jackson said Illinois is crucial to Clinton’s campaign because of its size and its affect on the Midwest.

SIUC was chosen instead of campuses in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for President Clinton’s speech site. Another political writer, James Warren of the Chicago Tribune, said Clinton’s decision to give a speech about student aid to SIUC was a good decision.

It’s better to give the speech in a state whose legislature spearheaded the financial aid programs under attack than some steel mill in Pittsburgh, Warren said.

Derge said several factors have influenced Clinton to speak at SIUC, including SIUC’s representation as a poor people University.

When you think of student aid, you think SIUC, Derge said. Since SIUC is a big consumer of federal money in student aid, he will attack the Republican Congress.

SIUC President John Guyon said a large number of SIUC students receive financial aid. He said the University administers $100 million a year in aid.

The Direct Student Loan Program, originally written by Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., is one of the financial aid programs on the congressional cutting block.

The Direct Student Loan Program credits loan money directly into student bursar accounts, and a credit balance is delivered to students in the form of a check instead of students going through a lender and an agency to guarantee the loan.

Clinton has to touch base on a lot of different things, Derge said. He’s preaching to the choir about giving more money to people who want more money.