Posted on April 23, 2007
Around 6 p.m. Thursday night, students across the nation were given the opportunity to speak with senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
Obama began by commenting on the tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech.
“Our prayers go out to all of the families of all those who were injured or killed,” he said.
While he said that he didn’t think Monday’s events could have been prevented, he does encourage people to focus on things that can be prevented in the future.
The conference call lasted approximately 30 minutes. There were eight colleges on the line with the Senator, most from the east coast.
The call was organized through Students for Barack Obama, a wing of Obama for America that grew so large it became its own organization. Obama said that within four months more than 200 chapters began on college campuses across the country.
Before taking questions from students, Obama encouraged students to remain active in his campaign.
“Young people have always been influential in campaigns for change,” he said. “And I’m counting on you to be a backbone of this campaign.”
Obama also encouraged students to take an active role in current Earth Day initiatives this past weekend by helping set up community events across the country.
“I hope your efforts continue beyond this weekend,” he said.
After his opening remarks Obama agreed to answer three questions from students. The first question came from Boston College.
The students there thanked Obama for running and asked if he believed that a message of political unity could travel abroad and extend to foreign policy.
He said that he believed people around the world look to us for an example of reason.
“We want to send messages around the world that we think before we send out the military, that we use diplomacy and that we actually listen to people before we act,” Obama said.
The second question came from Bowdoin college, they asked the Senator to comment on the current state of race relations in American and what young people could do to improve it.
Obama said that while he knows prejudices and racial stereotypes are embedded in our culture, he is still optimistic for change.
“It is always important to remind ourselves that we can make a difference in this area,” Obama said.
The Senator discussed the importance of young people in shaping the opinions of their peers, particularly with discouraging racial comments, even when they’re joking.
“If someone is using a racial epithet, that’s just not funny and it’s not acceptable he said.
Obama said it is important for young people to be willing and able to stand up to any sort of prejudice ,even if it’s uncomfortable.
He then discussed the broader racial issues facing the country. The Senator said that the reason African Americans have traditionally had lower life expectancies and economic status was because of their “tragic history.”
“Imagine if everybody in this country who was African America was basically at the same level economically as whites were,” Obama said. “A lot of our racial conflict would go away because people would be more likely to live in the same neighborhoods and go to the same schools.”
The Senator said that while this would not completely dissolve prejudice, it would drastically reduce it from where it is now.
The final question came from the University of Nevada, Reno. The students expressed their concern that college graduates may experience a lag in health insurance coverage until finding a job.
Obama said a lack of health insurance affects everyone, and discussed a proposal where people without income could come join a health care pool. He added that the Health Care System needs to be more efficient as money is not being spent more widely.
The senator concluded the conference by urging his supporters to keep working hard.
“You really are the key to this campaign, “ he said. “We can transform this country in ways we never thought of.”
