Name: Obama Announces Student Bill of Rights at Georgia Tech on 3/10/15
Uploaded: 2018-12-22T02:31:34.000Z
Duration: 30 min 9 s
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TIFFANY: Good afternoon, Georgia Tech and the Atlanta community. My name is Tiffany

Davis and I'm a third year Aerospace Engineering student.

[APPLAUSE] And like many other Techies, I stay up really

late at night trying to complete my assignments. So, at 3 AM, late one night, or, rather, early

one morning, I decided to take a study break by writing President Obama about a topic of

great concern to me, which is college affordability. To my surprise, and great excitement, I received

a letter of response from President Obama in February. In his response letter, he spoke

of he and First Lady Michelle also struggled meeting all the costs of college. He went

on to express concern for college affordability for the nation. The part of his letter that

resonated most with me was, and I quote, "I'm working to make college more affordable so

every American, including future rocket scientists like you,"

[LAUGHTER] "can achieve their dreams without worrying

And now, at this time, today, on March 10th, at our great Institute,

[APPLAUSE] to President Peterson and Mrs. Peterson, to

the faculty and to the staff, to the alumni, and to our wonderful student body that is

I have the honor and the pleasure of introducing President Barack Obama.

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Atlanta! [APPLAUSE]

This is a pretty good-looking crowd here! [APPLAUSE]

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you! THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

[LAUGHTER] I wasn't directing it specifically at you,

but you do look pretty good -- what do you think?

[LAUGHTER] I mean, I may not be the gauge -- you should

Everybody have a seat who has got a chair. If you don't have a chair, don't sit down.

[LAUGHTER] Now, I understand George P. Burdell was supposed

to introduce me today. [LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE]

So I want to thank Tiffany for stepping in. What she did not mention is that her letter

to me was not just to express her concern about student loans, she said -- in her letter

she said, it was also to procrastinate from doing her Thermodynamics homework.

[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE] That's a true story. That is true. That's

As long as you got it done, Tiffany. Where is Tiffany? Did you get it done?

TIFFANY: I got it done! THE PRESIDENT: Okay.

[LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE] Let's give it up for Buzz and the Georgia

Tech Band for getting us fired up. [APPLAUSE]

Also give it up for Governor Nathan Deal, who is here.

[APPLAUSE] Congressmen Hank Johnson and David Scott.

[APPLAUSE] And the President of this great institution,

That's good. You've got a high approval rating. [LAUGHTER]

You do. Absolutely. We also have a special guest with us -- this is a proud Georgia Tech

alum, who just happens also to be the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral

Sandy Winnefeld is here. Where's Sandy? There he is.

[APPLAUSE] Before he was the Vice Chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff, he was a Navy fighter pilot, which is cooler. Now he just goes to meetings.

[LAUGHTER] What's up with that? I told him he's got to

get back on a plane. It is great to be at one of the finest technical institutes in

One of the finest in the world. I mean, you've got to be if the Ramblin' Wreck is still running

That's a Georgia Tech reference that some of you may not know.

[LAUGHTER] I also know that Georgia Tech is terrific

because we've actually worked with you on several fronts -– from promoting advanced

manufacturing to unlocking the mysteries of the brain to helping more students become

And the reason I wanted to come here today is because I believe that higher education,

as you believe, is one of the best investments that anybody can make in their future. And

it's also one of the best investments you can make in our country's future. So I'm here

to say thank you and to tell you I'm proud of you, because I know that it's not always

easy to do what you're doing. It takes perseverance. A lot of late nights in the library and the

lab, and you're wrapping your minds around complex formulas and concepts that, frankly,

And some of you are holding jobs down at the same time, which makes it even harder. But

as frustrating as it may be, and Tiffany expressed some frustrations on occasion, it is worth

it. Higher education has never been more important. And the message I want to deliver today, not

just to you but to the entire country, is the entire nation has to treat it as a priority.

Right now, our economy is growing steadily. It's creating new jobs. You're going to be

going into a job market that's much better than the one that existed when I came into

After the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes, over the past five years, our businesses have

now created 12 million new jobs. Unemployment continues to come down, and obviously that's

good news for those of you who are graduating soon.

[APPLAUSE] Yes, that's right, you want a job.

[LAUGHTER] Your parents also want you to have a job.

They don't want you on the couch. [LAUGHTER]

But I didn't run for President just to get us back to where we were -– I ran for President

to get us to where we need to go. [APPLAUSE]

And where we need to go is a growing middle class with rising incomes and opportunities

for everybody who's willing to work hard. An America where no matter who you are, what

you look like, where you came from, how you started, who you love, what faith you're a

part of, you can make it in this country if you try.

[APPLAUSE] That's what America is all about.

[APPLAUSE] And today, a college degree is the surest

ticket to the middle class and beyond. It's the key to getting a good job that pays a

good income. And it offers a measure of security, because a college degree tells employers that

you don't just have one set of skills; that you've got the continuous capacity to learn

new skills, which is going to be particularly important for your generation because the

economy is going to churn and change in ways that none of us can even anticipate. Before

we came out here, I was talking to a group, including Sandy Winnefeld, and your Mayor

Kasim Reed, Tyler Perry buddy -- [LAUGHTER]

-- he wasn't in Madea, he was Tyler. [LAUGHTER]

And we were talking about how rapidly the technology is transforming everything we understand,

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Obama Announces Student Bill of Rights at Georgia Tech on 3/10/15

procrastinate

access

applause

community