Clinton campaign pays IU part of $55,000 debt

Hillary Clinton’s campaign paid $19,372 of the $55,000 it owes IU, said IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre on Wednesday.The money pays for Bill Clinton’s visit April 2 to IU.\nMacIntyre said IU officials predicted the Clinton campaign’s debt even before Clinton arrived on campus.\n“We were certainly aware of the likelihood that there might be a delay in payment,” he said. “Political campaigns are notorious credit risks. They always have been for all parties, not just Democrats.”\nIU Auditorium Director Doug Booher agreed with MacIntyre, adding that the situation isn’t out of the ordinary for anyone who uses IU’s facilities to give lectures, speeches and set up other events.\n“Depending on the timing, this seems to happen with student groups and private clients,” he said. “This is something that is not out of the norm.”\nBooher said clients have 30 days to pay their debt before they receive a second notice from the Auditorium. However, he said he couldn’t recall a time when clients failed to pay after the second notice. The money the Clinton campaign owes is three weeks overdue, meaning the campaign has one more week to pay before it receives a second notice.\n“It’s not totally out of the ordinary, and most clients take care of it within the 30 days,” Booher said. “They tend to resolve it.”\nIU junior Charlie Ginzburg said the debt shouldn’t be a big issue. However, he said he would have liked to see other candidates who he believes would probably pay their debt on time.\n“If she is going to pay it, then it was worth it,” Ginzburg said. “But they should’ve brought John McCain.”\nWhile Clinton’s campaign still owes IU about $36,000, Barack Obama’s campaign has already paid the University for his own appearance April 30 at Assembly Hall the Dave Matthews concert April 6, MacIntyre said.\nIU senior Ellie Schreiner said she wasn’t able to see any of Clinton’s appearances but doesn’t think the debt should affect her credibility as a presidential candidate.\n“I really don’t think it should affect who should be president,” she said. “It’s a good thing she came here.”\nMacIntyre said despite the failure to pay the debt, he is glad Clinton and her campaign decided to take IU’s invitation because IU isn’t a regular stop for presidential candidates.\n“We were well aware of the risks, but we thought it was important to have her campaign come to IU,” he said. “We felt it was a good thing for students to see her in person. Opportunities like this don’t come very often.”\nBooher said despite the risks and the possible delays in payment, he hopes IU won’t rule out inviting candidates \nto campus.\n“We can all agree that we are pleased to offer the opportunity to the students,” he said. “I don’t want to see IU eliminate the option.”