On this day in 1968, Robert F. Kennedy had one of his most contentious campaign appearances during his attempt to capture the Indiana Democratic presidential primary during a speech before 450 medical and nursing students at the Indiana University Medical Center's Emerson Hall.

Kennedy used the occasion to discuss the need for reforms in the country's health-care system to make "medical care available for all," including allowing non-professional staff to treat minor cases and creating neighborhood clinics.

Kennedy faced a barrage of pointed questions when he opened the floor to questions. When questioned repeatedly about where the money would come for his programs, he had a simple answer: "From you." He went on to say:

"Let me say something about the tone of these questions. I look around this room and I don't see many black faces who will become doctors. . . . Part of civilized society is to let people go to medical school who come from ghettos.

“You don't see many people coming out of the ghettos or off the Indian reservations to medical school. You are the privileged ones here. It's easy to sit back and say it's the fault of the federal government, but it's our responsibility too.

“It's our society, not just our government, that spends twice as much on pets as on the poverty program. It's the poor who carry the major burden of the struggle in Vietnam. You sit here as white medical students, while black people carry the burden of fighting in Vietnam."

The candidate's firmness under pressure impressed the students, who applauded him as the event ended. The encounter, however, had shaken Kennedy, who said to reporters: “They were so comfortable, so comfortable. Didn't you think they were comfortable?"

RFK aide Joe Dolan noted that the Kennedy campaign deliberately placed its candidate before antagonistic audiences. "He was at his best before a polite but hostile audience on a Q and A. That was where he was best as a campaigner, and that was the best kind of crowd to give him."