Presidential candidate talks with club
As the wide screens of a Froiland Science Complex room flickered to life, a crowd of restless students shifted in their seats, their movement and anticipation echoing throughout the quiet space.
The hosts, members and officers of Augie Dems, rushed to greet their guest speaker on the screen. After a few moments, the face of Marianne Williamson appeared, and the participants were in the presence of a presidential candidate.
Williamson, a Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential election, included Augustana in her list of colleges she has spoken at this year in the hopes of informing voters of the importance of participating in politics and to encourage her personal platform.
Traveling to institutions like Harvard University and the University of New Hampshire, Williamson has made appearances both virtually and in person at schools around the nation, giving speeches and explaining her personal stance on laws and current global conflicts.
“[Williamson] has worked throughout her career on poverty, hunger and racial reconciliation issues,” sophomore Eli Schipper, president of Augie Dems, said. “She supports the creation of a U.S Department of Peace and has assisted in conferences that educated and encouraged engagement in political activity.”
Schipper told the room the pillars of Williamson’s campaign, which include the “restoration of American civil rights,” like universal healthcare and tuition-free college, the establishment of a Department of Peace and the declaration of a climate emergency.
“Williamson believes the transformation of American society requires that we address the root cause of problems,” Schipper said.
After being introduced to the audience, Williamson took the stage in the form of a Microsoft Teams meeting and began to explain her candidacy. She also discussed what she wanted to enact if voted into office, beginning with a direct message to new generations and pushing certain policies.
The presidential candidate also expressed frustrations over the number of issues in the world that seemingly nobody has done anything to address the root causes of. Williamson said she plans to fix this lack of recognition if elected to office.
“You can’t really talk about any of the mental health problems today without talking about the profound economic anxiety that infuses the lives of the majority of Americans,” Williamson said. “You can’t talk about violence in America if it would have taught me about the effects of poverty on people’s lives. You can’t talk about health in America in a meaningful way without talking about our solutions.”
Just like Williamson encouraged communication between Americans, much discussion went into securing her as a speaker. By reaching out to Williamson, Schipper said Augie Dems was able to secure an opportunity to educate those of voting age and not in the favor of any specific political party.
“[Sharing] information, even without endorsing her, that doesn’t mean that we can’t give her a platform for students to make their own decisions. So the big thing was educating students, both Republican and Democrat,” Schipper said.
With a turnout of students in varying class years with different interests, the event mimicked a target audience of the average American.
“I thought the event went well,” freshman Ridge Fisher said. “[Williamson] did a good job answering everyone’s questions and making sure her position on relevant issues was stated.”
Looking ahead to the 2024 presidential election, Fisher said a new democratic nominee might need to be chosen based on “age, policies and considering how for most people, their economic situation has worsened.”
