Michael Bennet Visits DU (Event Blog 2)

Thursday morning, amidst the rush to classes, University of Denver students received a visit from Senator Michael Bennet who stood in front of Sturm Hall briefly discussing his platform and its relevance to young adults.

The democratic candidate first addressed the crowd of less than a hundred students and faculty by calling attention to college student’s current apathy towards the election even though the deadline for voting is only twelve days away.

“Bill Clinton came here the other day...and he told me that the youth are not interested,” Bennet said in reference to the former president who spoke on Bennet’s behalf at a fundraiser earlier this week. However, Bennet emphasized that this is unfortunate considering the significant shifts in education that could result if young adults choose not to support his mission to expand the federal student loan program.

“Ken Buck said that he doesn’t think our founding fathers ever intended for the federal government to have student loans” Bennet mentioned about his republican opponent who supports the gradual elimination of the program, even though 65.6 percent of four-year undergraduates required loans to finance their education in 2007-2008.

Furthermore, “Ken Buck does not support abortion even in the case of rape or incest” Bennet said while assuring the crowd that he believes in a woman’s reproductive rights, which caused a small burst of applause.
Then he went on to discuss the importance of repairing the state’s infrastructure, and finding ways to make sure that America has the most competitive economy in the twenty-first century even in the face of the largest deficit in history. “No matter what party we belong to,” Bennet said, “I don’t want to be a part of the generation that leaves behind debt for you.”

After promising to make the tough decisions necessary to lay a strong foundation for young adults to build upon, Bennet encouraged DU students to give an hour or two of their time to raise support for his election on campus.

“This race is the closest senate race in the country,” Bennet said, but “if we get our vote out, we will win this race.”