College Democrats Invite Guest Speaker
The Kent State College Democrats hosted Ilyse Hogue, a pro-choice activist and Hillary Clinton supporter, to lead an intimate discussion at Scribbles Coffee Co. Hogue, the president of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), spoke with a collection of college students and alumni on reproductive rights, gender equality, platform differences between Democratic presidential frontrunners and the best ways to discuss these issues with protractors.
NARAL reached out to the College Democrats of Kent State to ask about hosting an event for students. Hana Barkowiz, sophomore public relations major and president of the College Democrats, accepted and set up the event at Scribbles Coffee Co. in downtown Kent. “She’s an inspiration to a lot of Democrats,” said Barkowitz. She added that her organization was not favoring the Clinton campaign over that of Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s chief rival for the Democratic nomination. “We would help anyone out,” said Barkowitz when asked if she would be just as likely to do work with the Sander’s campaign.
Hogue opened the discussion by focusing on reproductive rights, framing it in the context of economic stability. “If we can’t control our reproductive destiny, how can we make a plan? Hillary gets that,” said Hogue. She added that, “[The] first step in empowerment is the choice to carry a pregnancy.”
The NARAL president went on to highlight some of her thoughts on why she prefers Clinton to Sanders. “Bernie is an ally on equality issues,” she said, “but we need a champion.” She referred to Clinton’s history sponsoring bills on reproductive rights. “A champion introduces [a bill], doesn’t just vote.” Hogue said that the largest gulf between the two candidates is that she believes Sanders sees the government as something inherently broken and in need of fixing, while Clinton perceives it as a tool for good.
Hogue concluded her discussion by talking on how to best interact with those seeking confrontation on political issues. She noted that the most counterproductive thing anyone can do is to outright dismiss or attempt to silence a contradictory opinion. “[There is] nothing revolutionary about shutting people down.”