Choosing Stanford, a palm-studded campus 30 miles south of San Francisco, was a bit of a bold stroke for Chelsea. Friends see it as a reflection of her eagerness to escape the White House “bubble,” and to shed the pressures of Beltway life. Palo Alto isn’t Washington Post territory. “Nobody cares about scandal out here,” says one university employee. “Everybody’s too busy Rollerblading.” But if distance will serve Chelsea well, it will also be tough on her famously protective parents. “Well, the planes run out there and the phones work out there. The e-mail works out there. So we’ll be all right,” said the president, mustering stoicism. Mrs. Clinton was more direct. “It’s so far away,” she lamented. This, after all, is a mother who once joked that she’d like to be Chelsea’s college roommate.
Not that the choice was easy for Chelsea, either. Her new school has a reputation equal to that of any Ivy League institution, but right to the end, according to friends, Chelsea agonized between Palo Alto and Princeton. It was during a follow-up visit to Stanford the weekend before her announcement that the scales finally tipped. Chelsea stayed in the dorm room of a friend who grew up in Georgetown, and sampled a smattering of campus activities: a dance recital, a fraternity party, outdoor study sessions and a stop at trendy Jamba Juice for a Boysenbery Bliss. Students found themselves having startling encounters with suited men in shiny shoes. One flamenco dancer at the recital told NEWSWEEK that a man with an earpiece burst backstage. “Have you seen Chelsea?” he demanded. “I need to find her.” Introduced later to Ms. Clinton, the dancer told her that “your Secret Service guy was looking for you.” “Thanks for helping him,” said Chelsea, rolling her eyes.
Chelsea’s long-term security arrangements haven’t been worked out–though The Stanford Daily was quick to reassure its readers that the Secret Service wouldn’t take a professional interest in underage drinking. That reservation aside, student response to Chelsea’s decision has been positive. “She made an excellent choice, " says Michael Breyer, a senior and the son of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Stanford, after all, is no stranger to celebrity. “The year Tiger Woods and I came, it was a big deal –for about two weeks,” says junior Fred Savage, star of TV’s “The Wonder Years.” “Everyone at Stanford is here because because they’re outstanding, so she’ll fit right in. I just hope they let her have a normal life–freshman year is hard enough without it being on CNN.” That’s one lesson Chelsea seems to have already learned.
