Spectators attending Sen. Hillary Clinton’s, D-N.Y., speech during the “Organizing for Change” rally at the corner of Kellogg Avenue and Main Street on Monday night may have had a little trouble getting past the gate.

One entrance was set up on Main Street and as people walked through, they were inundated by volunteers bearing clipboards who politely, but firmly, requested that visitors sign in and then told them they could not enter without the sticker emblazoned with Clinton’s name.

Harrison Kelner, freshman in animal ecology, said the sign-in sheet was simply a way to collect data and find out more about whether the rallies were really an effective use of time.

“Basically it’s for information tracking. It’s not like they actually use the information for anything other than to see. When they get a caucus card they can compare it to those lists to see if maybe that person came to the rally.”

When asked whether the stickers where actually a requirement to enter the rally, he said the stickers were actually just a way to ensure each person entering the rally had seen a representative with a clipboard.

For Sue Dinsdale, of Huxley, a representative of the Americans Against Escalation in Iraq campaign, her sticker was simply replaceable with an “Iraq War, Wrong Way” sticker.

Dinsdale said her organization liked to come to political rallies such as this one because they can generally find more people who are sympathetic to their cause.

She also said most of the Democratic candidates have supported Americans Against Escalation in Iraq’s cause.

“I’m happy with all of the Democratic candidates,” Dinsdale said.

After being introduced by an Ames Middle School seventh-grade student and by former State Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames, Clinton took the stage to hooting, whistling and plenty of applause.

Hillary’s speech ran the gamut of issues from health care to unemployment.

“So many Americans believe they are standing on a trapdoor,” she said. “They are one pink slip or one medical diagnosis away from falling through.”

She sharply criticized the Bush administration for its handling of jobs.

“This administration has one of the worst job-creation records in history,” Clinton said.

She also talked about the administration’s handling of international policy.

“I have this rather obvious idea: You cannot be a leader if no one is following,” Clinton said.

She also spoke against increasing dependence on foreign aid.

“We are more dependent on foreign oil today than we were before 9/11,” she said.

Finally, she mentioned the futility of the No Child Left Behind Act and said it was time to end President Bush’s “war on science” and bring back ethical stem cell research, among other things.

Hammond told an anecdote about Clinton speaking to a group of young mothers while a group of children played nearby. Hammond said that while Clinton was speaking, two boys playing at her feet began to fight over a truck, and without missing a beat, Clinton reached down and gave a toy truck to the boy that didn’t have one.

“Wouldn’t it be great if we had a president who could give trucks to all the little boys in the world without losing sight of the domestic issues that she cares about?” Hammond said.

Tammy Barker, graduate student in architecture, Michelle Hale, graduate student in interdisciplinary graduate studies, Jessica Lancial, junior in animal ecology, Alia Brown, senior in community and regional planning, Maggie Bear, junior in psychology, and Kimberly Behrend, senior in women’s studies, all attended the event together.

Although they were not affiliated with any group present at the rally, they said, almost in unison, they were supporting Clinton because they wanted a woman for president.

Lancial said she didn’t want to graduate and be unable to find a job in her field that would let her pay off her mounting student debt.