A crowd gathers inside the Lied Center to hear a speech by former President Bill Clinton at the Lied Center Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. Clinton was honored with the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize at the event, which was held by the Dole Institute of Politics.

More than 2,000 people packed the Lied Center for former President Bill Clinton’s speech Monday afternoon.

Dole Institute of Politics Director Bill Lacy said approximately 600 Kansas University students were present.

Clinton, who came to town to accept the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize, spoke at length about bipartisanship. He emphasized the importance of working together for the greater good, and said a large group will always come up with better solutions than a few elite.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, at the Lied Center of Kansas. Clinton was honored with the 2015 Dole Leadership Prize at the event, which was held by the Dole Institute of Politics.

Breanna Bell, a freshman from Lawrence, said being able to see a former president speak on campus was “really nice.” She liked how Clinton said it doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, a man or a woman.

“We’re all human; we all want to live in a world that’s safe. You know everybody’s doing the best for everybody,” she said. “I liked the comments he made about even though he and Bob (Dole) were running against each other, that didn’t matter.”

Tymon Wall is a junior from Winfield majoring in political science and global and international studies. His parents, Kelly and Brad Wall, drove about three hours from Winfield to join him for the speech.

“I teach history in Winfield, and I’ve told my kids for a long time that the only way that we’re really going to be able to solve anything is through compromise, and that’s exactly what (Clinton) was saying,” Brad said. “I’m in absolute agreement with that.”

Kelly, a speech pathologist, said she appreciated that Clinton said we live in an interdependent world, and what we have in common overrides the things that separate us.

“That’s very encouraging, very hopeful; good words for this time,” she said.

Tymon is also a member of the Dole Institute’s Student Advisory Board, which got to meet Clinton backstage before the speech.

“(Clinton is) very personable; he makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the room,” Tymon said. “He tells really great jokes.”

Also a self-described “very vocal” member of Student Senate, Tymon has witnessed firsthand much tumult in the past couple of weeks at KU, which launched to the forefront with a large forum on race on Nov. 11.

“It’s very poignant words, especially in today’s climate, to remember that agreement is possible,” he said.

In his speech, Clinton spoke of the Human Genome Project. He said scientists discovered that approximately 99.5 percent of human DNA is identical, and all nonage-related differences come from .5 percent of our genetic makeup.

Tymon said he believes that ignoring that .5 percent of difference isn’t productive, but it’s important to acknowledge and cooperate on the 99.5 percent that is the same.

“I think that there are actually differences that are very significant, and problems that arise from those differences, that need to be resolved,” Tymon said.

Gerald Armstrong, a retiree living in Lawrence, said he voted for Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 elections, and met him in person once.

“An interesting thing that I related to was (Clinton) said something about giving up being president if he could be 20 years old again and have the chance to start all over,” Armstrong said. “That’s kind of neat, too. I’m probably about his age — maybe a little bit younger.”