OSU preps for the First Lady Michelle Obama's commencement address
CORVALLIS, Ore. (KMTR) –- The City of Corvallis prepared Saturday to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama for her commencement address of the record Class of 2012. Mrs. Obama will be the keynote speaker at the main graduation ceremony for Oregon State University on Sunday, June 17, 2012.Saturday afternoon the ceremony’s color guard practiced its steps for Sunday amidst hundreds of chairs set up on the field. Hundreds of other seats were roped off in the stadium, as OSU is expecting a crowd on par with an OSU Beavers football game.OSU is expecting more than 30,000 people at Reser Stadium Sunday to hear Mrs. Obama’s speech; administrators say the First Lady will speak for between fifteen and twenty minutes. The University will also recognize her with an honorary degree in Health and Wellness.The gates open at Reser Stadium at noon on Sunday; the event begins at 3:30 PM. OSU officials urged attendees to get to the stadium early as security is going to be comparable to that at an airport. Corvallis Police will help with additional security and will have extra officers on duty helping direct traffic, much like an OSU football game.The First Lady will likely arrive in western Oregon Sunday, as she is spending Saturday night in Chicago with President Obama and their children at a wedding. Mrs. Obama’s visit to Corvallis will be at least her second; her first was in August 2011, when the First Lady and her family visited Craig Robinson, OSU head men's basketball coach and brother of the First Lady. If you can’t make the commencement event but would still like to hear Mrs. Obama’s speech, visit the following link: http://oregonstate.edu/events/commencement/streaming-video. The speech will also be aired live on OPB television channels.
You can also read NewsSource 16’s original report on the First Lady’s surprise visit to Corvallis last year at the following link: http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/First-Lady-Michelle-Obama-family-fly-into-Eugene/fVINwHHJCE6jXIx66njrXA.cspx.
