With the Pennsylvania primary in a few weeks, political activism on campus is quickly growing.
On Tuesday, former Mayor John Street responded to the excitement by going to 1300 residence hall to speak with Temple students about the upcoming presidential election.
Roughly 30 students enjoyed free food, refreshments and T-shirts while registering to vote before Street’s arrival. Street spoke with students at the beginning of the session about the race for the Democratic nomination.
“This is one of the most important elections in the first half of the 21st century,” Street said.
Street said he is an avid supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton and that she is the most experienced and eligible candidate at this point in time. He said he believes that Clinton would be financially beneficial to Philadelphia, and voting for her should be a “no-brainer” for its citizens.
The major issue of this meeting is to convey the point that “[the United States] is becoming an international laughing stock,” and Clinton needs to correct this stigma and set the country straight again, Street said
Several of the topics discussed in addition to the election were the Electoral College, campaign finance and race issues in politics. With an overwhelming number of students in favor of Sen. Barack Obama, there was some level of disagreement with the pro-Clinton mayor.
Despite his endorsement, Street spoke well of Obama and had no negative comments about his campaign.
Students found the session to be very informative.
“I found the way [Street] interacted with the students and shared his opinions very refreshing,” said freshman business major Haley Vergnano.
Martha Anker can be reached at martha.anker@temple.edu.
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