2020 presidential hopeful, Senator Kamala Harris, shares her vision with the Winthrop community
From student loans to Russian interference to climate change to prison reform Kamala Harris covered it all as she spoke at Winthrop University on Friday, April 19th. Harris, a U.S. senator from California, is one of the many Democratic candidates running for president for the 2020 election. Harris and her campaign team agreed to come to Winthrop just weeks prior to participate in a town hall event where she spoke to the crowd then took questions for the remainder of the time. The large crowd who came out in support of Senator Harris waited over an hour and a half to hear her speak, as her plane was delayed due to the poor weather. However, the antsy crowd proved to show great enthusiasm for the candidate once she began the town hall by cheering on her visions and taking plenty of selfies.
The crowd who came out to hear Senator Harris speak was extremely diverse from college students to professors to leadership in the South Carolina and York Country political parties. However, many crowd members seemed to believe it to be of utmost importance for everyone and especially students to show up to hear candidates speak. Shannon Barber, president of Winthrop College of Democrats, worked hard to ensure students would show up.
“…It’s important for people to be civically involved and also to hear the ideas of the people who represent them and realize who gets elected into office, especially president…could really affect your life. Everyone thing from your voting rights to your civil liberties…to how much your tuition costs…it really does affect your life. One of my pet peeves is when people say it doesn’t matter…because it does matter,” Barber said.
Many of the leadership around South Carolina seem to believe Democrats have a strong chance of winning the presidential election in 2020 and that Senator Harris could very well be that person. Trav Robertson, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, believes Democrats definitely have a shot in the upcoming presidential election.
“I think it’s [the multitude of Democrats running for president] is a good thing. Anytime you have a healthy debate about our democracy and how we change that democracy, that is good…I think that all of the Democratic candidates [running for the 2020 presidential election] have a very good opportunity of winning the nomination and the white house,” Roberson said.
Roberson also discussed how he believes the climate for women in politics is changing, even in South Carolina. He believes that women have a strong chance in the 2020 presidential election.
“…in a state [South Carolina] where 56% of the electorate is female, we have open primaries this may be a good electorate for a female candidate. You’re seeing for the first time in the history of our process that you potentially will have 2 to 4 women who are well funded, positioned candidates to receive the nomination of the party [Democratic Party]…so it’s going to be an exciting time in South Carolina,” Robertson said.
Winthrop Students were also among the crowd, eager to hear what Kamala Harris had to say. One student, Austin Hamilton, a Winthrop junior mathematics major, believes Senator Harris to have a strong chance of winning.
“I’m really excited for her [Kamala Harris]. I remember the day when she announced that I was very happy to see her step up to that position…she has a lot of room to take this where she wants it and she has a drive that is unseen from other people,” Hamilton said.
Ultimately, during the town hall, Senator Harris spoke briefly on many issues. She began with the issue of student debt. Her goals seemed to focus on finding better, more practical ways for students to pay back loans such as loan repayment is based on income. She did not mention free college tuition as some of the other Democratic candidates have been using as a large part of their platform.
Senator Harris also spoke about public k-12 education, specifically regarding South Carolina. She spoke about raising public school teacher salaries and enforcing stricter gun laws to ensure the safety of everyone and in particular young school children.
Another issue Harris spent a good amount of time on was climate change. She ensured the crowd that she believes in science and that climate change is real, saying she would rather use the word “climate crisis” to describe it. She states that she stands in full support of the green new deal and she believes it is time to invest in clean energy.
Finally, many of the questions posed to Senator Harris had to do with prison reform. Harris, a former prosecutor, acknowledged that mass incarceration and the mistreatment of those incarcerated in America is a serious issue. Senator Harris discussed the issues of the mistreatment of female inmates as well, such as how many states still shackle female inmates during childbirth. Harris also stated she believes voting rights should be restored to people after they have served time for their crime.
Overall, the crowd seemed very pleased with Kamala Harris’s visions of, “speaking truth” and being, “for the people”. It also showed that those who showed up for the event believed that hearing a candidate speak is a crucial part of America’s democracy and civic engagement.
[…] touched on that because most candidates don’t,” said Makayla Mangle, a Winthrop Student who covered the event for the […]