With a crowd of hundreds in front of him, President Barack Obama looked relaxed standing at the podium.

“We love you!” screamed an audience member at one point. “I love you back,” said Obama— one of many times throughout the speech.

As part of his two-day tour across upstate New York and Pennsylvania, Obama stopped at Henninger High School in Syracuse Thursday to discuss the importance of making higher education affordable to the middle class.

He joked around with the crowd, peppering his speech with jabs at the Republican Party and Congress. For nearly every point, there were nods and murmurs of assent.

The first part of Obama’s speech was an exposition of middle-class issues stemming from the 2008 recession, focusing on the rising cost of higher education. Obama touched on three proposals.

His first proposal involved a ratings system, which would score colleges based on how much debt students were graduating with, graduation rates and career placement after graduation. These scores would provide information to parents and students, he said, while determining how much federal financial aid a school would receive.

The second plan involved non-traditional learning tactics, including online classes to save money. This idea is similar to Syracuse programs that allow high school students to earn credits early, he said.

His final proposal addressed debt management. Many students are unaware of or ineligible for the Pay as You Earn program, which caps loan repayment at 10 percent of a student’s income, and which Obama said he would like to change.

The president spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the school, which has a 49.2 percent graduation rate.

Syracuse School Superintendent Sharon Contreras gave opening remarks, followed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Corcoran High School senior Emilio Ortiz.

Eager audience members cheered several times for Obama, each time to be disappointed by an unexpected speaker.

“So I’m here on a road trip through New York into Pennsylvania,” Obama said, when he came out at 6:22 p.m., mentioning his earlier visit to the University of Buffalo. “But I wanted to come to Syracuse because you’re doing something fantastic here.”

Obama’s speech would serve as a “jolt” to the Syracuse community, said New York Assemblyman Al Stirpe.

Obama called Syracuse a model for dealing with college affordability issues, highlighting programs such as Say Yes to Education, which helps Syracuse students afford higher education.

He talked about the recession’s effect on the U.S. economy and with the middle class.

“What used to be taken for granted— middle-class security— has slipped away from too many people,” he said.

Several families and parents attended the speech. Here to see Obama, they said they were also worried about paying for college. Obama’s speech, they said, would be a good thing for Syracuse students, giving them the hope they need.

Lori Tape, a Northside resident, has an 18-year-old son. His dream school was Johnson & Wales University— but it was too expensive.

“I sat down with the whole family,” she said on discussing tuition. She said it “sucked” to tell her son to choose another school.

“But I have a good kid so he understood,” she said.

Obama used initiatives such as healthcare reform and tax code changes as examples of how the American people helped “clear away the rubble from the financial crisis.”

Then, a heckler’s voice cut through the applause. Ursula Rozum, a 2012 Green Party candidate in Syracuse, was chanting with her hands cupped around her mouth. Next to her, a woman in red held up a “Free Bradley Manning” sign.

Booing came from all side and quickly intensified. The crowd grew rowdy.

“Hold on a second. Hold on. Hold on,” Obama repeated himself, trying to regain control of he crowd. When the two women were escorted out, the audience cheered.

“Can I just say that as far as hecklers go, that young lady was very polite,” he said as the crowd laughed. “She was. And she brought up an issue of importance, and that’s part of what America is all about.”

Without missing a beat, he segued back to the agenda.

“A higher education is the single best investment you can make in your future,” he said.

Yet, the cost of higher education is rising as it becomes more important, he said. Obama pointed out colleges not cutting back their costs, as states reduce higher education budgets, increases student debt.

He said his administration has reformed the student loan system by cutting out banks and lending to students directly, while capping repayments at 10 percent of monthly income.

But it isn’t enough, Obama said.

He criticized schools for being rewarded for their high tuition costs and low enrollment rates, saying it doesn’t accurately evaluate a school’s education quality.

At the end of his 28-minute speech, he stayed to shake hands with the audience. Someone held up a copy of Obama’s memoir, “The Audacity of Hope,” with a black Sharpie clipped on, hoping for an autograph.

Syracuse is making great progress, but still needs to continue working, said Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner.

Said Miner: “We need to focus every night.”

Published on August 22, 2013 at 11:46 pm

Contact Natsumi: najisaka@syr.edu