RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
The bad economy has been bad news for most colleges. Endowments have plummeted, and students have had a tougher time paying tuition. But for one small school in Los Angeles, the last few months have been great. Occidental College is celebrating the man who has become its most favorite alum, even if his time there was brief. One of Occidental's less well-known alums is a producer here at Morning Edition. We sent Ben Bergman back to college for this report.
(Soundbite of song "Theme from Beverly Hills, 90210")
BEN BERGMAN: Up until recently, my proud alma mater's great distinction was being the location for TV show "Beverley Hills, 90210" and for the '90s classic "Clueless," starring Alicia Silverstone.
(Soundbite of movie "Clueless")
Ms. ALICIA SILVERSTONE: (as Cher Horowitz) Uh, as if.
BERGMAN: We've also had some famous alums: former congressman Jack Kemp, Ben Affleck, oh, and there was some guy known as Barry, who enrolled as a scrawny freshman in 1979. Whatever became of him?
(Soundbite of speech, November 4, 2008)
President-elect BARACK OBAMA (Former Democratic Senator, Illinois): At this defining moment, change has come to America.
(Soundbite of crowd cheering)
BERGMAN: Oh, yeah, he did all right, I guess? Barry, as he was known in those days, was mentored by politics professor Roger Boesche.
Dr. ROGER BOESCHE (Arthur G. Coons Professor of the History of Ideas, Occidental College): I taught Barack Obama his first politics course.
BERGMAN: Boesche gets asked a lot these days if he saw something truly presidential in the young student from Hawaii.
Dr. BOESCHE: No, I cannot say that I looked across my class and said, now, that guy someday will be even in the Senate, much less the president. But he stood out, and he was very articulate.
BERGMAN: When Mr. Obama wasn't in the classroom he spent hours in the gym playing pickup basketball with classmate Brian Newhall.
Mr. BRIAN NEWHALL (Head Men's Basketball Coach, Assistant Director of Athletics, Occidental College): Vividly remember him in the gym being very thin. We both thought we were very good. We played against each other quite a bit. Driver, herky-jerky would be the basketball term, where - and he was very left-handed, but athletic, fast, competitive, but not such a good outside shooter.
BERGMAN: It's become folklore around campus that Mr. Obama wasn't good enough to make the team. That's not true, says Newhall, who now coaches the Occidental team.
Mr. NEWHALL: Would have been an excellent division III basketball player, but just chose to study and focus on his academics.
BERGMAN: Mr. Obama also made another choice after his sophomore year. He left Occidental and transferred to Columbia, because he has said he wanted a bigger school and to be in New York. That along with the fact that Mr. Obama rarely mentions Occidental haven't stopped the school from claiming him, though. It points out his former dorm on tours and has devoted a special section to the president-elect in its bookstore.
Ambassador DEREK SHEARER (Former Ambassador to Finland, William Clinton Administration; Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy and World Affairs, Occidental College): This is the display of BarOxyWear.
BERGMAN: BarOxyWear, a play on Occidental's nickname, Oxy, explains politics professor Derek Shearer.
Amb. SHEARER: One of my favorites, which I've already purchased for my grandchildren, is the pants that you put on young kids around their diapers that say "Change We Need - Barack Obama." There's the Yes, We Can top for good-looking women, and we have beautiful Obama-Oxy hats, which are already selling out.
BERGMAN: The school also hopes to capitalize on Mr. Obama's victory through alumni giving and admissions. Occidental President Bob Skotheim says the president-elect could be especially helpful now, given the recession.
Dr. ROBERT A. SKOTHEIM (President, Occidental College): We hope that this will be an offset to that and that the Obama bump will counter what offset private colleges might experience.
BERGMAN: And any Obama bump would be amplified with a campus visit. It hasn't happened yet, despite a meeting between some of the college trustees and Mr. Obama during the campaign.
Dr. SKOTHEIM: The invitation is open to him at his convenience. His response to the trustees was, in fact, I will come when I'm in the White House.
BERGMAN: And now that he's almost there, Occidental is waiting to see if Mr. Obama follows through on his promise. Ben Bergman, NPR News, Los Angeles.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: This is NPR News.