Published:Thursday, April 24, 2014
Updated:Thursday, April 24, 2014 01:04
In front of a crowded venue Hillary Clinton touched on topics from the struggles of young people to Edward Snowden during her appearance at Jorgensen Auditorium Wednesday night. The former senator and Secretary of State gave a short lecture and answered questions on domestic and international political issues.
A major theme of Clintons talk was participation, which she expounded on significantly. She cheered the volunteers of colonial America, who joined civic clubs, had religious faith or started fire departments, holding the participants up as examples of the American ideal.
Sean Smith, a 2nd-semester Engineering Physics major, appreciated Clintons comments directed towards young people.
I liked how she talked about students and our role in participation, Smith said. We have to go out and vote despite being frustrated with the government.
Clinton also addressed the middle class of America, which, she noted, is not as prosperous as it once was. According to Clinton, the middle class has more to do with the concept of equality, rather than economic growth. Honing in on UConn students in the auditorium, Clinton said it is in the younger generations that people are struggling to find work.
Today, there are nearly six million young people in America who are out of school and out of work, Clinton said. But, Clinton asserted, its even more difficult for people of color, which is a fact so often forgotten.
Clinton noted that neither her nor President Obama would have been a full citizen when the United States was founded. To her, it is the immigrants and the socially downtroddens struggle to participate in the American process of democracy, education and opportunity that define American exceptionalism. She proposed the idea that the millennial generation represents the participation generation that holds the values of old America true, while remaining more tolerant than the America of old. She cited a recent increase in volunteer hours and LGBT rights as examples of full and equal participation in the modern age.
Caitee Winkler, a 6th-semester art history major, enjoyed when Clinton acknowledged womens issues.
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Hillary Clinton addresses pressing political issues