Campus abuzz with promise of Obama
Political Action Week begins with student speakers
Corey Aldritt
|
The start of Political Action Week started with a buzz as the news that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would be speaking on Central Campus on Friday spread its way throughout the gathering of students.
"We didn't know until today, so we're really excited," said Kyleanne Kiraly, freshman in English and member of Students for Barack Obama.
Kiraly said she thinks Obama will be speaking about a lot of student issues, like how to pay for college.
Monday's speakers all focused on the same main point: They all wanted students to get involved and help change the way politics is run in this country.
"To not know what's going on in the world, now that's un-American," said Basil Mahayni, graduate assistant in political science.
Mahayni addressed the crowd for 15 minutes about foreign affairs and the state of the Middle East.
"Their issues are far greater than cutting someone's head off and suicide bombings," Mahayni said.
Mahayni is of Syrian descent and said the violence in the Middle East is an issue of water, not ideology. He said the richest aquifer in the world is under the West Bank.
He thinks that when political leaders come to campus, students need to grill them with questions and not let them respond with sugar-coated answers.
"Both parties have been spineless the last couple of years," Mahayni said.
The first speaker of the day stressed student involvement in the government in order to help out Africa.
Natalie Sugira, ONE Campaign ambassador, was born in Rwanda and lived there until 1989.
"Our votes will count. I care about poverty; I care about global HIV," Sugira said.
Sugira said students need to stand up and get involved with campus groups and organizations.
"We're asking for your voice. You have one; use it," Sugira said.
James McCormick, department chairman and professor of political science, spoke about students' future in politics.
"Make certain that you put together good factual info, but also make sure to look up alternate points of view," McCormick said.
Political Action Week will continue all week on Central Campus with new speakers every day. Also, there is food served every day except Wednesday for $1.
Terms Of Use
In order to facilitate fair and focused discussion, the Iowa State Daily requires that all participants adhere to the following forum rules. All user feedback will be posted immediately upon submission and will be monitored by the user community. Forum participants are encouraged to report any feedback that does not comply with the rules. Although the Daily reserves the right to remove posts and/or block users if these rules are violated, the staff will not be actively involved in an approval or review process. These terms of use may be modified at any time without notice, and such modifications shall be effective immediately.
All letters to the editor, whether submitted to the online edition or the print edition, and all online story feedback become the property of the Iowa State Daily and may be used in print editions and online editions of the Iowa State Daily. The Daily archives all of its content, which is accessible to readers at any time. Anonymous letters will not be accepted. Names may be withheld for good cause upon request at the sole discretion of the Daily. Letters may be edited for style, space, clarity and accuracy.
In submitting feedback, you are representing and agreeing that:
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Booster Gold
posted 9/18/07 @ 10:30 AM CST
A freshman Presidential candidate espoused by Freshmen. Wonderful... Are they working on getting any other candidates for a balanced PA week, or do we just get Mr. (Continued…)
Starman
posted 9/18/07 @ 2:59 PM CST
Can we say HYPERBOLE as far as this headline goes? If this was say, that Dave Matthews Band concert thing and we landed it, I can see more people being excited about than yet another Presidential candidate coming to campus. (Continued…)
The Natural
posted 9/18/07 @ 4:49 PM CST
Obama, such a neat guy! I would vote for him for senior class president because, like, he could change things. Like maybe it would be so totally cool if we could have free pizza in the union!
Post a Comment