To the Editor:
As a young liberal, I want a candidate for President who is able to get things done, work across the aisle, and continue the progress that we started in 2008. I want a candidate for president who has the experience and passion to advocate for me and with me on issues that are important. When I watch Republican debates, I feel proud to have two great candidates interviewing to be Democratic nominee for President. Both will continue progressive ideals that President Obama has led for the past eight years.
According to the Institute for College Access & Success, the Virginia average student debt an individual walks away with is $26,432. This is crippling and out of control. As a recent college graduate, I want a President who has a comprehensive plan to mandate college affordability.
In my lifetime, I have lived in a country where kindergartners and 1st graders, high schoolers, college students, moviegoers, co workers, Planned Parenthood patients, faith leaders, and innocent neighbors have fallen victim to gun violence. When I attended college, during first year orientation, I was told 1 in 4 students are victims of sexual assault. Gun safety and campus sexual assault are too prevalent in Virginia and across the country. We need a President who has a solid plan to close loopholes in sales of guns. Negligent manufacturers and dealers should be held accountable and not immune. I want a leader who will support legislation to stop domestic abusers from having access to guns. In addition, our future leader needs to have a comprehensive plan to increase sexual violence education for both men and women. This starts with programs that discuss consent and bystander intervention in both high school and college environments.
Our generation wants a leader to fight for and continue to create change now. Equality. Racial justice. Pay equity. Raise the wage. Voter rights. Marriage for all. Healthcare. A Woman’s right to choose (prochoice). Sustainability and climate change mitigation. Campaign finance reform. Immigration. Education. So often us “youth” are seen as devaluing the social justice movements before our time, and are only present to support a trendy populism. It frustrates us without end, when elder generations diminish our thought process into sexist and/or racist assumptions. We are not complacent. We do not follow trends. We support a leader who can fight with us and continue the momentum on these crucial issues.
It’s like a dreaded group project, who do you want the team captain to be? The ideas person? Or the strategizer? We support Hillary’s action plan for our country. We love Bernie’s ideas and vision, but our country needs a President with a detailed plan and vision for our nation, has proven experience domestically and internationally, and is able to work through how tough and nasty politics in D.C. can be. We fully support Hillary Rodham Clinton for President. Now, it’s time to elect her. #ImWithHer
Danielle Simms, Alexandria; Leigh Mason, Arlington; Morgan Jameson, Vienna; Meg Rich, Alexandria; Helen Clemens, Alexandria; Graham Weinschenk, Arlington; Jeff Person, Falls Church; Monica Sarmiento, Springfield; and Jackson Samples, Fairfax