By C.G. Lynch
As his supporters filed into the Boston University’s George Sherman Union for a scheduled rally, senator and Democratic presidential nominee hopeful John Kerry waited in a small room upstairs, amidst a group of his most ardent student advocates.
“These next weeks can change history,” Kerry said. “My sense is, now, that people are starting to pay attention. We can do it, and you’re making that difference.”
Stressing the importance of health care, military prudence and education in America, Kerry’s campaign stop at Boston University comes just over a month before the Iowa primary.
“We had great crowds, great turnout, great energy,” said Kerry, who met with BU’s Students for Kerry and other collegiate reporters from the Boston area just minutes before the rally.
After a few handshakes and a quick photo opportunity, the senator led the group downstairs, where he gave a speech in front of local media, supporters and students.
Offering sharp criticism of the Bush administration, Kerry highlighted his plans for improvements in funding health care and education, as well as his proposed Head Start program, in which high school graduates who serve their community for two years will receive a full, four-year in-state tuition paid by the government.
“So many of you are going to leave here with a stunning burden of debt,” Kerry said. “That burden of debt is going to condition some of the choices that you can make. We are stealing choices from American citizens because we are unwilling to make college more affordable.”
Kerry said he hoped to reform businesses and corporations that have benefited from current tax policies. Specifically, he cited Tyco, a company with offices in New Hampshire that adopted an address in Bermuda to benefit from tax loopholes.
“Our tax code has gone from 14 pages to 17,000 pages,” Kerry said. “And I’m saying to you when I’m President of the United States, we are going to pour through those pages. We are going to make sure that not one loophole or one incentive is left standing for any Benedict Arnold company that goes overseas to take advantage of a loophole and stick the American people with the bill and take their jobs.”
Sticking to domestic issues, Kerry addressed health care as one of the most important issues in his decision to run for president.
“[The United States] refuses to acknowledge a fundamental principle,” Kerry said. “And when I’m president, we are going to make that principle the law of the land – and that is that health care is not a privilege for the wealthy. Health care in America is a right, and we are going to make the same plan available for every single American that’s available for congressmen and senators.”
In international matters, Kerry stressed that war should be used as an absolute final means to resolve global issues. In addition, he urged that America should become less reliant on oil, a problem, he said, that spurs conflict with foreign nations.
“If this president wants to make national security the centerpiece of this campaign, which he seems to have indicated he does want to, then I say to him three words that I know he understands: ‘bring it on.’ I’m ready for that debate.”
Members of the NU branch of Students for Kerry were in attendance to voice their support for the senator.
“We need a candidate with experience,” said Heidi Buch-
anan, a middler political science major who heads the NU branch. “He’ll need a strong running mate, probably from the south. He’s going to have to use his military experience against Bush.”
In closing, Kerry urged students to support his campaign during its final push.
“Your individual courage, your willingness to make a commitment in these next weeks can actually change the future. The history of this country has been written by people who were prepared to go out and take on that fight. There is time for you to play your part in writing our generation in this moment of time.”
