By Justin, Georgetown University
At the Democratic National Convention, the Obamas made mention of the fact that they struggled with college loans into their adult lives. They recognize that tuition isn’t the only growing burden for so many students across the country. The rising cost of textbooks is an added financial strain – one for which many of us will be bracing ourselves as schools begin their academic year. The Washington Post recently directed some attention to the trouble with textbooks and college affordability:
“The rising cost of college textbooks has driven Congress and nearly three dozen states -- including Maryland and Virginia -- to attempt to curtail prices and controversial publishing practices through legislation. But as the fall semester begins, students are unlikely to see much relief.“Estimates of how much students spend on textbooks range from $700 to $1,100 annually, and the market for new books is estimated at $3.6 billion this year. Between 1986 and 2004, the price of textbooks nearly tripled, rising an average of 6 percent a year while inflation rose 3 percent, according to a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office. In California, the state auditor reported last week that prices have skyrocketed 30 percent in four years.“‘It's really hard just paying for tuition alone’, said Annaiis Wilkinson, 19 and a student at Trinity Washington University who spends about $500 a semester on books. ‘It really sets people back’.”
“Last month, Congress passed legislation forcing publishers to release more information about their prices. It also requires them to sell a textbook separately rather than packaged with a CD or workbook that makes for a more expensive purchase. However, the provisions do not take effect until 2010.“Meanwhile, although 34 states have introduced similar proposals over the past three years, only six states have approved them. Virginia passed its Textbook Fairness Act in 2005, but Maryland's bills have died in committee for three years. Any impact of the new laws at the cash register remains to be seen.”
Yesterday marked the official opening of the College Democrats of America’s convention. The convention, which runs until Wednesday, will be filled with prominent speakers, vital training sessions, and young student activists. More importantly it offers the opportunity for College Democrats and Students for Barack Obama to come together and conceive a united game plan for the fall that benefits both organizations. Working closely with SFBO is on the platform of all of the candidates for executive office within CDA. At SFBO we could not possibly agree more.
Candidates in local and statewide races all across the country are echoing Barack Obama’s message, our message: a message of new politics, cooperation, and change. CDA’s primary mission is to elect Democrats in all of these races. Our mission is to elect Senator Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. Thankfully the two are not mutually exclusive. In order to elect our candidate as well as make sure that the message of this campaign, this campaign that can change a country, we need to work together.
At a panel yesterday on youth politics we talked about shared areas of interest. We can register voters together. We can canvass together. We can hold joint meetings. We have a short amount of time left, but students identified with Barack Obama’s vision for our country and a coalesced with the campaign quickly in the primary. We are confident that if we work together, if we turn out, when we turn out, we will be the difference makers in the general election as well.
Tips from College Democrats for America and Obama for America Leadership:Gather a group of your friends (or in this case maybe new friends from CDA or SFBO) to canvass all the dorms on your campus and get students registered and ready to turn out.Don’t take anything for granted, don’t wake up the day after Election Day thinking to yourself you could have done more. Talk to your family members, your classmates and your neighbors face-to-face. Show with your hard work how important this election is to you, people will notice.Speak to EVERYONE, just because you think that someone is not receptive to our message does not mean that you cannot convince them otherwise.
Tips from College Democrats for America and Obama for America Leadership:
Gather a group of your friends (or in this case maybe new friends from CDA or SFBO) to canvass all the dorms on your campus and get students registered and ready to turn out.
Don’t take anything for granted, don’t wake up the day after Election Day thinking to yourself you could have done more.
Talk to your family members, your classmates and your neighbors face-to-face. Show with your hard work how important this election is to you, people will notice.
Speak to EVERYONE, just because you think that someone is not receptive to our message does not mean that you cannot convince them otherwise.
Click here are interested in getting more involved and don't know how.
by Josh, Boston College Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, hosted a forum for the presidential candidates on Saturday night. Senator Obama responded to questions about his was world-view, faith, family, and the future direction of our nation. Pastor Warren's opened with, "who are the three wisest people you know in your life, and who are you going to rely on heavily in your administration?" Senator Obama answered with several names (seemingly unrelated to one another), including his wife, Michelle, former Senator Sam Nunn, Senator Dick Lugar, Senator Ted Kennedy, and Senator Tom Coburn as some voices he'd look forward to hearing as President:
"What I found is very helpful to me is to have a table where a lot of different points of view are represented, and where I can sit and poke and prod and ask them questions, so that any blind spots I have or predispositions that I have, that my assumptions are challenged. And I think that that’s extraordinarily important."
He made sure the audience knew that his wife was the one to always call him out on a boneheaded mistake. That sense of working together and listening to solve important problems continued throughout the rest of Senator Obama's time with Pastor Warren. When asked about America's greatest moral failure, Senator Obama replied:
"I think America’s greatest moral failure in my lifetime has been that we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me, and that notion of — that basic principle applies to poverty. It applies to racism and sexism. It applies to, you know, not having — not thinking about providing ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class. There’s a pervasive sense, I think, that this country, as wealthy and powerful as we are, still don’t spend enough time thinking about the least of us."
Senator Obama also included the idea of empathy and working together when describing what his Christianity meant to him:
"But what it also means, I think, is a sense of obligation to embrace not just words, but through deeds, the expectations, I think, that god has for us. And that means thinking about the least of these. It means acting — well, acting justly, and loving mercy, and walking humbly with our god. And that — I think trying to apply those lessons on a daily basis, knowing that you’re going to fall a little bit short each day, and then being able to kind of take note and saying, well, that didn’t quite work out the way I think it should have, but maybe I can get a little bit better. It gives me the confidence to try things, including things like running for president, where you’re going to screw up once in a while."
The Saddleback Forum on Saturday allowed Senator Obama the chance to speak to the faith community across America, and emphasize the role of faith in his particular spiritual journey and how that faith might influence his public policy as President.
It is important to bear in mind the differences between us and those we disagree with, we must try to follow the Senator's example in trying to have a open, honest dialogue about our views. It's only through discussion and debate that we will come to know others as equally concerned citizens and not as people who are pursuing a radical agenda that we don't agree with. Pastor Warren urged the audience to find a way to disagree with out demonizing the other side. I think that is something we should all strive for.
For a full transcript of the exchange click here.
"It's peer-to-peer conversations that are going on, so I'm, you know, talking to my roommates, talking to my classmates, letting them know why I'm doing this."
Our organization, Students for Barack Obama, is based on this idea: any student, anywhere in the country can make a difference by reaching out to their friends and neighbors and encouraging them to vote and support Senator Obama. Even those of us in reliably Democratic-leaning states, such as New York or Massachusetts (my home state), can reach out to others and help through programs such as the "Sister Schools" program.
NYU for Obama member Patrick McClellan explained the program in the report:
"They set up New York colleges with Pennsylvania colleges, so that New York Students for Obama group chapters can meet up with a counterpart in Pennsylvania, crash at the dorms in Pennsylvania, and do voter registration and canvassing."
With creative programs like this, student-to-student connections, and unbridled enthusiasm and commitment, the youth vote can breakout this year as a clear force in our country's elections.
Ohio has created a window in the election calendar that would allow residents instant gratification — register one minute, vote the next. It's also given the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain a chance to bank thousands of first-time voters during that Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 window. The move will benefit Obama, who enjoys a 2-to-1 lead over McCain among 18- to 34-year-olds, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. If Obama's campaign were able to tap into college campuses with one-stop voting, it would add thousands of votes to his tally in a state where, in 2004, John Kerry lost to President Bush by only about 118,000 votes, putting Bush over the top in the electoral count.
I can't speak for students around the country, but I did not know that colleges and universities were supposed to be making a 'good faith effort' to register us. I know at least at my university it seems that most of the work to register college students comes from College Democrats, College Republicans and NYPIRG. Sen. Durbin, a key backer of our campaign, recognized that most colleges and universities aren't acting in good faith and he is trying to do something about it.
Sen. Richard Durbin, also of Illinois, has introduced a bill in the Senate that would require all colleges and universities that receive federal fund to offer voter registration services to students.“Making registration applications automatic will remove one burden preventing young people from getting involved in the democratic process,” Durbin said in a statement accompanying his legislation.In 1998, Congress required colleges and universities to make a “good faith effort” to register students to vote. But a 2004 Harvard University study found that only 17 percent of colleges and universities nationwide fully comply with the law.
Sen. Richard Durbin, also of Illinois, has introduced a bill in the Senate that would require all colleges and universities that receive federal fund to offer voter registration services to students.
“Making registration applications automatic will remove one burden preventing young people from getting involved in the democratic process,” Durbin said in a statement accompanying his legislation.
In 1998, Congress required colleges and universities to make a “good faith effort” to register students to vote. But a 2004 Harvard University study found that only 17 percent of colleges and universities nationwide fully comply with the law.
Countless young teachers have answered the call to service in New Orleans in the years following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, Americans of all ages, from all walks of life have flocked to the city and its surrounding parishes in hopes of making a difference. The Houston Chronicle recently covered the influx of volunteers into the region:
"As the surge in applications to local universities such as Tulane showed, New Orleans has become a destination for young people who want to live in a place where they feel a unique potential, both to make a difference and to have fun."The explosion of interest in teaching here can also be attributed to the marketing techniques of programs such as teachNOLA and Teach For America, which have used the Internet to spread the message that New Orleans is the place to be for young educators bent on change. The city's growing reputation in education reform circles has fueled that message."
"As the surge in applications to local universities such as Tulane showed, New Orleans has become a destination for young people who want to live in a place where they feel a unique potential, both to make a difference and to have fun.
"The explosion of interest in teaching here can also be attributed to the marketing techniques of programs such as teachNOLA and Teach For America, which have used the Internet to spread the message that New Orleans is the place to be for young educators bent on change. The city's growing reputation in education reform circles has fueled that message."
The article profiles a few intrepid volunteers who set their sights on New Orleans' schools in an effort to lend a helping hand:
"Mark and Amy Lucker left rural Minnesota with their young sons, inspired to become teachers in New Orleans after reading a newspaper article. "After a chance encounter with two teachers at a basketball game, native Louisianian Craig Laborde quit a long career in law enforcement and is headed for a job in the classroom. "Northwestern University senior Rachel Durston was drawn by an ad for college students interested in education. Eager to return to her Southern roots, she applied to teach in the Crescent City. "After years of scrambling to find good teachers, many public schools in New Orleans have more aspiring teachers than they know what to do with as the new school year approaches. "'We have far more applicants than we have positions for', said Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District. With more than 1,000 resumes on file, Vallas said the district could easily double its teaching pool, if necessary."
"Mark and Amy Lucker left rural Minnesota with their young sons, inspired to become teachers in New Orleans after reading a newspaper article.
"After a chance encounter with two teachers at a basketball game, native Louisianian Craig Laborde quit a long career in law enforcement and is headed for a job in the classroom.
"Northwestern University senior Rachel Durston was drawn by an ad for college students interested in education. Eager to return to her Southern roots, she applied to teach in the Crescent City.
"After years of scrambling to find good teachers, many public schools in New Orleans have more aspiring teachers than they know what to do with as the new school year approaches.
"'We have far more applicants than we have positions for', said Paul Vallas, superintendent of the Recovery School District. With more than 1,000 resumes on file, Vallas said the district could easily double its teaching pool, if necessary."
Our commitment to service begins with people like the Luckers, and Craig Laborde, and Rachel Durston. Senator Obama has sounded this call throughout the course of this campaign, and he has long partnered with the people of New Orleans in their efforts to rebuild and revive. Senator Obama's Gulf Recovery Plan is available on our website:
"In the Senate, Barack Obama introduced legislation with Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) to enable public schools affected by Katrina to immediately attract and retain top talent. He also introduced legislation to help three historically black colleges and universities in New Orleans recruit and retain students and faculty. Obama has proposed a loan forgiveness program to encourage students to return to institutions of higher education in the affected Gulf area. As president, Obama will help communities in the Gulf make necessary school infrastructure investments so all kids from all backgrounds have safe and supportive environments to learn."
Senator Obama released the following statement on the Center for Disease Control's report about new cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States:
"We have now learned that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006, not 40,000 that had been previously cited. These new figures should bring new focus to our efforts to address AIDS and HIV here at home."As president, I am committed to developing a National AIDS Strategy to decrease new HIV infections and improve health outcomes for Americans living with HIV/AIDS. Across the nation, we also need to prevent the spread of HIV and get people into treatment by expanding access to testing and comprehensive education programs. This report also demonstrates the need for more timely data about HIV transmission so that we can effectively evaluate prevention efforts. "Combating HIV/AIDS also demands closing the gaps in opportunity that exist in our society so that we can strengthen our public health. We must also overcome the stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS – a stigma that is too often tied to homophobia. We need to encourage folks to get tested and accelerate HIV/AIDS research toward an effective cure because we have a moral obligation to join together to meet this challenge, and to do so with the urgency this epidemic demands."
"We have now learned that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006, not 40,000 that had been previously cited. These new figures should bring new focus to our efforts to address AIDS and HIV here at home.
"As president, I am committed to developing a National AIDS Strategy to decrease new HIV infections and improve health outcomes for Americans living with HIV/AIDS. Across the nation, we also need to prevent the spread of HIV and get people into treatment by expanding access to testing and comprehensive education programs. This report also demonstrates the need for more timely data about HIV transmission so that we can effectively evaluate prevention efforts.
"Combating HIV/AIDS also demands closing the gaps in opportunity that exist in our society so that we can strengthen our public health. We must also overcome the stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS – a stigma that is too often tied to homophobia. We need to encourage folks to get tested and accelerate HIV/AIDS research toward an effective cure because we have a moral obligation to join together to meet this challenge, and to do so with the urgency this epidemic demands."
To read Senator Obama's plan for fighting HIV/AIDS at home and worldwide, click HERE
A student perspective on this issue to come on Students.BarackObama.com later this week.
By Lauren Wolfe, President of College Democrats of America
Though it may seem like all the spots in Denver are reserved for those of us who are Senators and/or millionaires, the best spot in the house may actually be reserved for students.
The College Democrats of America Convention starts just days before the Democratic National Convention. At the CDA Convention students have the opportunity to take part in valuable trainings, interesting panels and hear from some serious speakers.
We are starting on Friday, August 22nd and students can stay throughout the CDA and Democratic National Conventions to attend youth events throughout the week. We've got the cheapest rooms in Denver. Registration for the CDA Convention itself is only 65 dollars. For more information and to register check out our website. I'll be driving from Detroit so if you need a ride along the way, let me know!
Many Americans are struggling in the reality of our economic downturn. The pressure of rising food prices has affected people across a range of income levels, and students with part-time incomes are struggling to keep pace with their increasing cost-of-living. The Associated Press recently offered a snapshot of this now-broadened economic hardship:
"Just blocks from the University of Washington, a line of people shuffle toward a food pantry, awaiting handouts such as milk and bread."For years, the small University District pantry has offered help to the working poor and single parents in this neighborhood of campus rentals. Now rising food prices are bringing another group: Struggling college students...."Some of the students are working their way through college with grants, loans and part-time jobs. Others are just reluctant to ask parents for more money."'More and more, it's just the typical traditional student, about 18 to 22, that's feeling this crunch', said Larry Brickner-Wood, director of the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the University of New Hampshire."In the past year, the price of groceries has jumped nearly 5 percent, the highest increase in nearly two decades. The cost of some staples has shot up by more than 30 percent."
"Just blocks from the University of Washington, a line of people shuffle toward a food pantry, awaiting handouts such as milk and bread.
"For years, the small University District pantry has offered help to the working poor and single parents in this neighborhood of campus rentals. Now rising food prices are bringing another group: Struggling college students.
...
"Some of the students are working their way through college with grants, loans and part-time jobs. Others are just reluctant to ask parents for more money.
"'More and more, it's just the typical traditional student, about 18 to 22, that's feeling this crunch', said Larry Brickner-Wood, director of the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the University of New Hampshire.
Even with tuition assistance, students living off-campus and without access to campus meal plans are increasingly unable to keep up with the rising cost of food and other essentials. Senator Obama has proposed an educational tax credit to help relieve the financial strain of our increasing cost-of-living through offsets in overall college costs:
"Obama will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Obama will also ensure that the tax credit is available to families at the time of enrollment by using prior year's tax data to deliver the credit when tuition is due."
By Marc Peters, SFBO Blog Director
“People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.” Senator Barack Obama, A World that Stands as One, July 24th, 2008.
In the 14 months I’ve spent running the Students.BarackObama.com blog, I have often found myself getting sucked in to the echo chamber that exists in political news. Far too often journalists and bloggers are writing for each other and advancing issues of polls over issues, process over policy and drama over substance. They draw me in with speculation and rumors. They draw me in with the latest scoop. That’s what this summer in particular has been like for me…until yesterday.
When Barack Obama stood before 200,000 people at Germany’s Victory Column and began to address the crowd not as a candidate, but as a citizen of our great country, I got chills. Throughout the speech I was reminded time and time again of the smallness of our politics. We let ourselves be divided over the trivial when we could come together from all walks of life for something more.
If Germans and Americans could work together to protect democracy in the 20th century against a communist threat, there is no reason that we should not be able to work with each other, Democrat, Republican and everyone in-between to face the perils of our generation.
“History reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy,” Senator Obama said. “True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.”
As Americans, as citizens of this world, we cannot exist in a vacuum. No matter how much we think we have, no matter how much we think our lives should be envied, each of us will always need something from someone else. Our lives lack meaning, if while we are succeeding there are millions and millions around the world who do are not. Individually we cannot help all people, but together we can lift up our country and lift up the world.
We can look for someone to blame for a broken education system, global warming, a flawed healthcare system, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the endless other problems we face, but that is a waste of time. We need to take that energy and put it toward ending poverty, insuring more Americans and saving our planet.
Don’t allow yourself to become distracted and forget about the immense task at hand. When you watch the pundits and prognosticators and you start to grow more and more cynical of the process, look to Berlin, look to Senator Obama and look to the thousands of students just like you who hunger for a more perfect union and a more fair and just world.
Click here to watch or read the speech.
The most amazing thing about this poll, to people who do not know our fervor, is not that Obama is winning overwhelming support among our generation, but rather that these incoming freshman intend to vote. The recent polls done by the mainstream organizations, (Gallup, NY Times, Rasmussen, etc.) treat their representative samples according to past elections. With polls like the one from the University of Washington, it’s evident that we are turning those representative samples on their head.
Obama enjoys fantastic support from our generation, but his words, actions and beliefs have transformed that support into activism, into a drive to participate. 18-year-old college freshman, many of whom have never paid attention to politics before, are throwing more than their support behind the youthful, charismatic, and intelligent Senator from Illinois. Our generation is becoming the new base of the Democratic Party, a base that is coming out in force for Obama.
While Obama has gotten excellent reviews for his recent trip abroad (and Students for Barack Obama will have our own on his landmark speech in Berlin), it’s important to remember that he is getting even better reviews domestically. With colleges reopening their campuses to classes soon, the ever-growing Millennial base of the Democratic party will play an even bigger part in moving the national story, the national polls, and even the national platform.
"Want to score one of the tickets to Senator Barack Obama's speech accepting the Democratic nomination in Denver next month? You won't have to pay, but you may have to work for it, according to the Obama campaign."
"In an interview with the Denver Post, deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand indicated that the price of admission to the speech would be a pledge to volunteer and recruit new voters on behalf of Mr. Obama. "'We're going to ask those 80,000 people in that stadium to march out of there and go with very specific instructions and goals to register millions of new voters', Mr. Hildebrand told the Denver Post."..."Nearly 60,000 members of the public could receive the "community credentials" that carry the price of activism between the convention and the November election, the Post reported."
"'We're going to ask those 80,000 people in that stadium to march out of there and go with very specific instructions and goals to register millions of new voters', Mr. Hildebrand told the Denver Post."
Senator Obama's recent venture into Afghanistan and Iraq has helped to underscore a central truth to our diplomatic efforts in the Middle East: that we have lasting partnerships in the region, and that these partnerships are best sustained through thoughtful, respectful dialogue with our allies. In his visit to Afghanistan, Senator Obama - along with fellow Democratic Senator Jack Reed and Republican Senator Chuck Hagel - met with US troops stationed in Kabul in hopes of gauging morale and getting a better feel for the situation on the ground:
"Back on the ground in Afghanistan, breakfast with the troops was one of his favorite parts, Obama told a military reporter at the event, according to CNN. 'To see young people like this, who are doing such excellent work with so much dedication and pride, it makes you feel good about the country', he said. 'You want to make sure that everybody back home understands how much pride people take in their work here and how much sacrifice people are making. It's outstanding'."
"I'm also convinced, as a former Peace Corps volunteer, that Barack Obama will appeal and excite the imagination of younger people to stand up and contribute, to give something back to our country. Barack pointed out...how I was inspired by a former American president. I've been asked a million times, over the last forty years, why I joined the Peace Corps. I did it because a American president asked me to. I think today we're witnessing across this country that people are asking for leadership to ask them to be involved in something larger then themselves. And this candidacy of Barack Obama, I believe inspires that."
"Just as we must value and encourage military service across our society, we must honor and expand other opportunities to serve. Because the future of our nation depends on the soldier at Fort Carson, but it also depends on the teacher in East LA, the nurse in Appalachia, the after-school worker in New Orleans, the Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, and the Foreign Service officer in Indonesia. Americans have shown that they want to step up.
But we're not keeping pace with the demand of those who want to serve, or leveraging that commitment to meet national challenges. FDR not only enlisted Americans to create employment, he targeted that service to build our infrastructure and conserve our environment. JFK not only called on a new generation, he made their service a bridge to the developing world, and a bright light of American values in the darkest days of the Cold War."
Contributed by Connecticut SFBO
Over one hundred people gathered Saturday in Hartford, CT for a youth rally and voter registration drive sponsored by Students for Barack Obama. On the ninety five degree day, youth volunteers from across the state learned and registered new voters and brought in many new people into the political discourse of this election.
The day began at nine o’clock for the volunteers (early for high school students in the summer). The team put up signs, setup tables, setup chairs, and helped to prepare the West Indian Social Club for the event. All volunteers partook in a voter registration workshop, where many people learned the process of voter registration (for the first time) and some of the new state laws pertaining to it. The A/C was on (for the volunteers inside), and the event was off to quick start by ten o’clock.
Ambitious volunteers quickly setup a table outside to maximize the success, waving Obama signs at passing cars, enticing pedestrians to take a quick pit-stop, register to vote and join in on the festivities. Inside, people who attended listened to some R&B music, enjoyed some snacks and cold water, and registered to vote. A live musical performance by local church pastor Cleo White drew a huge response with his song “Yes We Can,” inspired by Barack Obama and written specifically for the event.
Fourth World Nation, a popular youth band from South-Western Connecticut, traveled over an hour and a half to perform. The band featured its original music and was a huge hit among all the attendees. Members of the band exemplified much of what the Obama Campaign has been about – diversity, originality, unity and passion – made evident by an impeccable range of repertoire including songs from rock, reggae, and alternative styles of music.
The musical rendition was preceded by the keynote speaker of the event, the Connecticut high school SFBO director for Students for Barack Obama, Thomas Dec. He spoke of his experiences in the campaign and the common thread motivating many of the youth voters to turn out in this election:
“The key is being able to take advantage of what our country has to offer, but still provide that opportunity to others who might not have the means to provide that opportunity to themselves. Younger voters, voters across the country – they see this concept slipping away. We turn on the T.V and we see millions of people without healthcare, millions of people in poverty. We see all of these problems and it doesn’t seem like much is getting done to solve these problems, or at least make headway towards [solving] them. The positive thing is we also see millions of young people going and trying to change this – through the Obama campaign, through volunteer service – really trying to take a stake in this country and in this election. We have stood up. We have decided that silence is not the answer.”
“The key is being able to take advantage of what our country has to offer, but still provide that opportunity to others who might not have the means to provide that opportunity to themselves. Younger voters, voters across the country – they see this concept slipping away. We turn on the T.V and we see millions of people without healthcare, millions of people in poverty.
We see all of these problems and it doesn’t seem like much is getting done to solve these problems, or at least make headway towards [solving] them. The positive thing is we also see millions of young people going and trying to change this – through the Obama campaign, through volunteer service – really trying to take a stake in this country and in this election. We have stood up. We have decided that silence is not the answer.”
The event ended at about one o’clock in the afternoon with many of the volunteers anxious for the next event. The tables were put away, the chairs dismantled, but the journey was certainly far from over – many of the volunteers planned to attend later events throughout the Greater Hartford Area.
By Josh, Boston College Barack Obama spoke before the 99th Annual Convention of the NAACP on July 14th, where it just happened to be "Youth Night." Obama drew a vivid historical connection between the heroes of the past and the youth of today, by reminding the audience of how much is owed to previous generations and how much potential lies with our own. Obama reminded the audience of a particular refrain of Dr. King's that is often lost: that "the inseparable twin of racial justice is economic justice." That message resonates with those of us now preparing to leave high school or college. We are stepping into an uncertain economic future, and most of us have serious debts to repay from the cost of our education. Opportunity is not something that can be taken for granted in today's economy. So many of the rights that we hold most dear demand real economic equality:
"What Dr. King and Roy Wilkins understood is that it matters little if you have the right to sit at the front of the bus if you can't afford the bus fare; it matters little if you have the right to sit at the lunch counter if you can't afford the lunch. What they understood is that so long as Americans are denied the decent wages, and good benefits, and fair treatment they deserve, the dream for which so many gave so much will remain out of reach; that to live up to our founding promise of equality for all, we have to make sure that opportunity is open to all Americans."
Too often over the past eight years, tax cuts have gone to those who did not need them. Senator Obama is committed to using tax breaks for the middle class, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and expanded access to healthcare to restore that sense of possibility and opportunity that is central to the concept of civil rights:
"That is what I've been fighting to do throughout my over 20 years in public service. That's why I've fought in the Senate to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create good jobs here in America. That's why I brought Democrats and Republicans together in Illinois to put $100 million in tax cuts into the pockets of hardworking families, to expand health care to 150,000 children and parents, and to end the outrage of black women making just 62 cents for every dollar that many of their male coworkers make."
Senator Obama understands that Washington has a responsibility to reward hard work and provide equal opportunity to all Americans, regardless of age, race, or background. As our generation enters the workforce and public service, we cannot forget those fundamental truths. Senator Obama asks something of all of us:
"Put your shoulders to the wheel of history and take up the cause of perfecting our union just as earlier generations of Americans did before you."
By doing so, we are not only helping ourselves; we are honoring the commitment of those generations who came before us, and we are ensuring a better future for those generations yet to follow:
"If you march with me and fight with me, and get your friends registered to vote, and if you stand with me this fall - then not only will we help close the responsibility deficit in this country, and not only will we help achieve social justice and economic justice for all, but I will come back here next year on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, and I will stand before you as the President of the United States of America. And at that moment, you and I will truly know that a new day has come in this country we love."
Read the full text of the speech here.
By Josh, Boston College From the beginning of this campaign, Senator Obama promised to campaign in all 50 states and speak to people of all different races, religions, and backgrounds. There’s no better example of that than the rise of “Liberty University Students for Barack Obama.” Founded by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell and located in Lynchburg, VA, Liberty is one of the most conservative universities in the nation. That hasn’t stopped Michelle Miller, the head of Liberty University Students for Barack Obama, from supporting Senator Obama or encouraging her friends to do the same. Michelle is optimistic about Obama’s chances among religious conservatives:
“You can be Christian and not vote Republican. Jesus was not a Democrat or a Republican.”
Sara Parker, another Obama supporter at Liberty, thinks he can win the state:
“I really think Virginia is in play and I am really excited to be a part of that.”
They’ve got their work cut out for them, but their optimism and hard work should be an example for Obama supporters across the country. You can read about Obama’s plan for faith-based initiatives here and visit Virginia for Obama here.
On the Students.BarackObama.com you have access to a function that allows you to send in your personal stories and policy ideas to the campaign. The best, most comprehensive plan for change in our country will include your ideas and your feedback. America needs a president with a mandate from the people, and everyone deserves a voice in shaping our next president's agenda.On this blog, we will from time to time highlight someone's story or policy idea. We start today with Lily of Illinois:
My story, well I am 16 years old, a diabetic with a single mother. My mom has 2 jobs, a school nurse, and a nurse for our United States Army reserves. We pay $500 per month for our insurance premium, because we are a family and also since I have a chronic illness. I admire my mother more than anyone. She makes me feel, that if she can do it all, then maybe I can. With the war, economy, and healthcare crisis right now, I feel that we need a person, to get elected in 2008 that saves the US. I feel that Barack Obama is that person. Sincerely,Lily
