The GW College Democrats kicked off the semester Wednesday with guest speaker Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), who said college students hold the country’s fate in their hands.

Speaking about his vision for future change, Wellstone outlined his belief in college students.

“The future is not going to belong to people who are content with the present,” said Wellstone, a former college professor. “It will belong to men and women with passion, or as Eleanor Roosevelt said, `people who believe in the beauty of their dreams.'”

Wellstone, who left just 45 minutes before his airplane’s departure, spoke openly about his situation.

“I didn’t want to just not show up,” Wellstone said. “I would have been overwhelmed with Jewish guilt.”

Though the CDs scheduled Wellstone sometime last semester, travel arrangements affected by Hurricane Floyd threatened Wednesday’s event.

“His wife is having surgery and he was (originally) supposed to leave on Thursday.for about 10 minutes I was very nervous,” Casteel said.

With attendance that exceeded expectations, members said they were confident about this year’s success.

“Look at how many people are here. What else do I have to say?” CD Events Director Helen Casteel said.

Anjan Choudhury, CD president, said he found Wednesday’s turnout promising.

“This year the CDs will be bigger than it has ever been,” Choudhury said.

The CDs have already lined up several high-profile speakers for the semester, he said.

“I thought the event was awesome, but.(Wellstone) went out of his way for us,” Choudhury said. “We need more politicians like Wellstone who care a lot about college students.”