'The coolest opportunity:' UWM students react to Vice President Kamala Harris' campus visit Thursday

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – If you were on or around the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Thursday afternoon, chances are you saw an increased police presence, blocked-off streets, or even U.S. Coast Guard helicopters circling the campus.

The security measures marked a visit to the school from Vice President Kamala Harris, who met with local Latino leaders and UWM students.

Some students that CBS 58 spoke with said they were "excited" to have a spotlight shone not only on their school but also on Milwaukee as a whole.

"It's amazing to have a female vice president and it's inspiring. I'm really grateful that she's coming to UWM," said Charlotte Willard, a master's student at the university. "Somebody wants to come here and talk to us and get our opinion so I think it's great."

Sophomore Ariel Mullis said she had "never actually been close to somebody so important."

"We really just have to get taught all of these lessons and stuff like that," Mullis said. "Her being here and speaking to people...she's a great person to receive those lessons from."

Freshman Mayson Hermann said having the vice president on campus was "super, super cool."

"There's definitely a lot of people that don't care that this kind of thing is happening but this is a big thing.

These are big leaders in our nation and in the entire world, and the fact that I might be able to go in the same room as one of them right now is just the coolest opportunity," Hermann said.

Harris' visit comes just two months before Wisconsin's midterm elections in November.

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