Queens College student Alan Van Capelle was looking forward to meeting President Bill Clinton Thursday, but little did he know that in the wake of the TWA plane crash, he would see the president expressing unguarded emotions.

"He was very sullen. It looked like he had tears in his eyes," Van Capelle said in a phone interview after the meeting. "He was visibly shaken up by what had happened."

Van Capelle, 21, of Commack, was one of 10 people who met with Clinton at the White House Thursday morning. It was one of a series of "coffee chats" organized by Clinton's campaign committee.

The meeting took place between 9 and 11 a.m., before Clinton held his first press conference about the plane crash. As a result, Van Capelle saw a rare side of the president -- his raw emotional response to a tragedy.

As soon as he arrived at the White House at 8 a.m. for security clearances, Van Capelle said he felt a sense of urgency. The group was led by campaign staffers to the dining room in the president's private residence, where they waited for about 15 minutes for Clinton to arrive.

"He walked into the room, and we all stood up," Van Capelle said. "He then shook hands and took pictures with everyone."

As they were sitting down, Van Capelle said, someone in the group told Clinton: "What a way to start the day." The president responded curtly: "It's all part of the job."

Clinton began the meeting by asking the visitors to keep the families of the crash victims in their prayers. He then gave an update on the status of the crash, saying that there were preliminary indications of an explosive device, according to Van Capelle.

After about 10 minutes, the discussion shifted to other topics such as education, social spending and anti-crime legislation. The meeting, which was attended by some of Clinton's campaign staff, also focused on his re-election effort. "He didn't harp on the crash. He just looked shaken," Van Capelle said. White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta interrupted the meeting to give Clinton some briefing papers on the crash, according to Van Capelle.

"As the meeting went on, he felt more comfortable," Van Capelle said. "But you could tell that he had other things on his mind."