Everything that happened when Chelsea Clinton came to ASU
‘We can’t let Love Trumps Hate be just a slogan’
In the final run up to the 2016 election, Hillary for America rallies are taking over the country in a last bid to make ‘Love Trump Hate’. This Wednesday was no different with Chelsea Clinton visiting Arizona State University to tell 800 people how her mom would improve the lives of college students and graduates nationwide – ‘but obviously I’m biased’.
Chelsea’s most prominent message throughout her speech was her belief in Hillary to produce equality for all the people of America, not just if you’re ‘white, male and straight’. She was met by applause each time by the crowd at any mention of making college more affordable for students and graduates, right down to improving high school education in preparing students for college and promoting appreciation for the country’s teachers. In particular she claims that a vote for Hillary will mean free college education for 57,000 students in Arizona, a number seemingly impossible to achieve under a Trump presidency.
Here’s what the students of ASU had to say about Chelsea’s visit.
DeNiro: Philosophy, Law and Politics major
“I was a Bernie supporter originally, but I’m here today because I believe we’re stronger together and we need to understand what’s at stake here when it comes to our livelihood. Not just us but our children and the next voting generation.
“The most important thing to me is police reform. When it comes to justice for African Americans I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to compromise your convictions to be compassionate and understand what we feel, so when I hear people say that Black Lives Matter is a hate group or anything like that, I just get baffled.”
Madeline: Theatre major
“I’m here today because I got really invested in the election this season and educating myself throughout it has been really important to me, and once Bernie was out of the race Hillary was the clear choice to me. I want to be a really educated voter. I think the media paints a really ugly picture of who she is but once I educated myself about what she believes in and how much work she’s put in over her entire lifetime I realized she cares about all the same issues that I care about.
“The defunding of Planned Parenthood was such a crazy moment to me, like we need to have access to birth control and they do so much that people don’t realize.”
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Freddie: Secondary Education, History and Politics student
“I haven’t been to a Clinton rally yet so I’m interested to see what Chelsea has to say today. I’ve been to a Bernie rally and a Trump rally, which was crazy. I have mixed feelings, this election is not the best and I think both candidates are pretty terrible. But I feel like voting third party is kind of risky and it’s not the time to make a statement.
“If Hillary wins I want to see her push for environmental regulation so I hope Chelsea discusses that today. I don’t really watch TV coverage of the election and I don’t take the articles from FOX and stuff at face value so I’m interested to see it in person today”.
Nicole: Law
“I’m here today because I want to see Chelsea Clinton and she’s speaking about my thesis topic which is the free tuition proposal. I’ve always supported Hillary, and I really want to see the tuition policy discussed and have her tackle issues such as student debt and what will happen to people who go to private colleges, as well as the minimum wage issue.”
Florian: Geography major
“I am here today because I’m from the UK and I’m interested to witness American politics firsthand. I’ve seen Trump and I figured it’s time to see the other side of the fence – the people are much happier and friendlier here compared to the tension and aggression at the Trump rally. I want to see Hillary push for climate change issues more effectively so I hope Chelsea mentions that today.”
Josh: Computer Systems Engineering major
“My friend made me come today, but I did feel like it was important with the last debate being tonight. I’m an independent but I’m beginning to support Hillary now because I just feel like I don’t like Trump… at all. He’s single-handedly targeting my community, Hispanics and specifically immigrants.
“I’m excited to hear Chelsea talk about education policy and apparently the 57,000 students in Arizona which is a big thing because I was fortunate to get my education covered for and I know there are a lot of people who aren’t as fortunate”.
Joclyn, Biomedical Engineering major
“I’ve been reading up a lot on the candidates websites and I’ve been to Ben Carson and Gary Johnson rallies so I feel like it’s a good opportunity to visit a Clinton rally. I tried to see a Trump rally right when he announced his presidential nomination and it was just so packed I couldn’t even get in, it was totally ridiculous.
“But I don’t feel like it’s constructive to vote independent so I’m educating myself more on Hillary’s policies today. I feel like Trump goes completely in the wrong direction for women and we will see no progress from him at all, so that’s something I want to see Hillary push for and Chelsea speak on today.”
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Chelsea did not fail to meet the demands of the ASU students, taking questions from the crowd on the role of teachers across the country, encouraging young people to run for public office and of course making college more affordable for people from all backgrounds.
With Arizona balancing between Democratic and Republican, despite being a Republican state in the last 11 out of 12 elections, visits like this around Arizona could make all the difference.
Photography by Florian Varga