Michael Lemos walked into his weekly study group at Dornsife’s Center for the Political Future (CPF) unaware he would be face-to-face with former president of the United States, Joe Biden.
Biden’s visit, three weeks in the making, marks his first major appearance at USC since 2009, when he celebrated his nephew’s graduation from the Gould School of Law.
“I think this is probably the coolest opportunity I’ve ever had at USC,” said Lemos. “I think he’s really authentic as a politician, he did a good job showing that…[His background] served as an inspirational platform for everyone in the room because it shows that anybody can make it in politics if you try and dedicate yourself and you talk to voters.”
Mike Donilon, a Bohnett Fellow at CPF this semester, was in a unique position to invite Biden, as he began working with the politician in 1981 and eventually served as his senior advisor.
CPF fellows provide students with the opportunity to meet in small groups to exchange ideas and speak directly with them without the added stress of homework assignments or added credit hours. Most groups typically don’t exceed 20 students, but Donilon’s popularity brought his small group, “Democracy 2026,” up to 25 students.
Donilon told USC Dornsife News that Biden “emphasized that he wanted it to be a student-centered visit. One where he could speak to students about the importance of public service, getting engaged and defending democracy.”
Biden’s conversation with students mirrored the CPF’s goals of bringing together different political perspectives to advance civil dialogue and providing students with the opportunity for direct conversations with experts and politicians who have shaped American politics.
Ruby Belt, a student worker and administrative coordinator for CPF, highlighted the benefit of bringing the “D.C. experience” all the way across the country to “the only bipartisan political institute on the West Coast.”
The bipartisanship of CPF is upheld by its co-directors, Robert Shrum and Michael Murphy, who both have experience as political consultants in the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
This experience for students expanded beyond the discussion around preserving democracy. After the conversation, students sat down with Biden to eat pizza and ice cream and talk about their lives at USC.
“We were just talking about non-politics-related stuff, which I think is also a really unique experience and not something that I think that I’ll ever get to do again with a former president,” Belt said.
Lemos said he was inspired by the former president’s story and humility during the conversation.
“I think a lot of other politicians [can] be hard to relate to because they come from wealth, these privileged backgrounds. He does not. He has overcome so much in his life to make it to where he is,” Lemos said. “I think that was very inspiring for people.”
CPF is partnering with USC Annenberg, USC Open Dialogue Project, USC Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and the USC Annenberg International Communication Studies (ICS) program to host an election night watch party on Tuesday. The event, which begins at 6 p.m., will include live analysis and discussion by USC faculty.
Edited by Natalie Cerna and Nina Kremer