The future of America is in the hands of college students nationwide. Senator Cory Booker understands this well, and said on a call with student reporters, “This is a population that could easily determine this election if voting amongst young people was not at its normal level, but in this presidential election, if it was up to 70 percent. Millennials is the biggest population going through America right now. They have the ability to sway most every election.”
On Thursday evening, Booker took a call with student journalists from around the nation. He first opened with short remarks that emphasized his campaign stance that empathy will win.
“I’ve been making the theme of my campaign from the very beginning the urgency of a nation. For us to come together, to heal, to recognize that we share so many common challenges, so much common pain and we’ve got to turn that into a sense of common purpose,” Booker said, before turning the conversation to questions from the journalists.
The first question came from a student at Spelman College, who asked Booker about how journalists can push forth the same energy as he has with encouraging unity and change in America.
“One of the most important energies for making change is empathy, courageous empathy, and data and statistics tell, but the real-life stories of individuals, they capture hearts they motivate people to action and we know this through visuals that we have seen,” Booker said. “When journalists are able to capture real-life stories, not just quoting statistics or giving dry data and information I think that that ultimately moves people’s hearts and motivates them to take action and to change.”
A journalist from the University of New Hampshire asked Booker about his plans regarding student loan debt and why his is the best plan to improve the college experience nationwide compared to other candidates.
“I’m confident that our plan is not only good for alleviating the student debt crisis. I believe that we can get our plan done and passed through Congress,” Booker said. “It is reflected in legislation right now that I am a cosponsor of for debt free college. That involves having the Federal government and state governments both stepping up to relieve the burden of high college costs.”
Booker explained that debts for people going into public interest careers would be forgiven as well as those of low-income Americans. He also spoke about his baby bonds initiative, which would leave American children with thousands of dollars in money from the Federal government by the time they turn 18. This money could be put toward college, housing or other necessities.
A journalist from The University of Iowa asked Booker if he thought it was possible for the Iowa polling ranks to change and how the senator planned to achieve those changes. In response, Booker explained that at this same point in their elections, former presidents Clinton and Obama were both polling at the same rate he is.
“We are going to win because we have what those other campaigns had back then,” Booker said, giving credit to the teams on the ground in Iowa, and throughout the country, for the hard work they are putting in to make the campaign successful.
A reporter from the University of Oklahoma asked the senator about how, as president, he would lessen racist attitudes in America.
“This election is not a referendum on one guy in one office. I think it’s a referendum on who we are and who we are to each other,” Booker said. “I think that this is an election about our virtue, it’s about our hearts, it’s about our spirits, and that’s what I will talk to throughout this election and in any position I hold.”
Unfortunately, there was an issue with the audio connection of the call, so when the representative from The Johnsonian went to ask about the senator’s climate change policies, the senator was unable to clearly understand the question. He did, however, speak about his general position on climate change and how he would use the role of president to ignite change within the United States.
“Leaders create the conditions that make change possible. We know in the past, 2016, the person with the best policy plans lost. And that’s what we have to understand. To win, it takes more than just your policy plan. It takes the ability to inspire, to engage, to ignite action amongst folks,” Booker said.
The senator feels passionate about reuniting America and getting the country on the same track, on issues including climate change and racism.
“Nothing will change unless we do unless we have a higher level of activism, and that’s the kind of president I’m gonna be. I’ll be demanding more from the ideal and concept of citizenship, I’ll be asking for more engagement because, in the history of our country, a major thing is that change does not come from Washington. It comes to Washington,” Booker said at the end of the call.
Photo: Oriana Gilmore/ The Johnsonian
