Kerry encourages students to vote

Daughter of presidential nominee speaks to crowd in Transitions

Caroyln Walser / senior photographer Vanessa Kerry spoke to students in Transitions last Thursday

Vanessa Kerry, the eldest daughter of U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, spoke to a crowd in Transitions last Thursday, and encouraged students to participate in the election process.

I don’t feel like my generation is getting invited into the [political] discussion," Kerry said. "We are 40 million young Americans that can change the face of the nation." Kerry said that Virginia is tied between the two major party presidential candidates and that student votes could determine the balance of power in the state. "You need to figure out what kind of leadership you want and demand it," she added.

Introduced by Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Bath), Kerry opened the event to questions from audience members.

Several 527 campaign organizations — political groups that operate questionably under the McCain-Feingold fund-raising reform legislation — recently have questioned the veracity of Senator John Kerry’s service record in Vietnam. The actions and questions raised in television advertisements by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth "disrespect every man who served," Kerry said. "I have a problem with that."

Kerry also touched on her father’s platform. Sophomore Eric Gregory asked how John Kerry could balance an increase in troops, a positive for eign policy and lowering of middle class taxes. Vanessa Kerry said that monetary allocation would increase American troop forces, not military research. She added that alliances are the "future peace," and that America should share burdens with other nations.

Sophomore Brian Bennett said, "The speech and question section were good, in general, because she definitely addressed a lot of the political attacks on her father. That, along with getting our generation to vote, will certainly be one of the big issues this year. I was glad to see that she addressed both of these topics."

Kai Degner (’03), founding member of OrangeBand Initiative, offered Kerry an orange armband. Degner asked Kerry if she would pass two extra bands along to the twin daughters of President Bush. Kerry said that she and the Bush twins already are working together on a non-partisan disaster relief fund.

The event was organized by the College Democrats in cooperation with Students for Kerry, said senior JohnAlex Golden, SGA vice president of academic affairs.

"We were thrilled and blown away at the turnout on such short notice," Golden added.