Kerry speaks with college students in phone conference

As part of his "Change Starts with U: Kerry Campus Tour 2004," Senator John Kerry hosted a conference call for college newspaper reporters yesterday. His brief opening speech and student questions centered on issues important to America's youth in the context of his anticipated nomination for Democratic candidate for president.

"Over the last three years, public college tuition has increased by around 28 percent even after inflation is taken into account," Kerry said. "That meant that this year, 220,000 students have been priced out of college."

Kerry blamed the Bush administration's tax cuts for the rising costs of tuition. "In effect, Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy have been a tax increase for college education, and I think that's unconscionable," he said.

Kerry said that his education policy would create a $50 billion tax credit for education, which would amount to $4,000 dollars in credit per student per year.

"There's a choice in this presidential race," Kerry said. "It's between common sense and what has proven to be failed economic policies. It's a stark choice, and we want students to start realizing their power in this election."

Kerry encouraged American youth to rally around what they believe is right, and become active in the political process. "Young people have an enormous power and should embrace and use it," he said.

"We're going to make issues pertinent to young voters once again, and together we're going to win back a Congress that will change this country's priorities," Kerry added.

A March 3 Daily poll showed that 36 percent of students claim to be more politically active than in the previous year. Twenty-seven percent of students said they were less politically active than last year. Support for Kerry also seems strong. According to that same poll, 67 percent of respondents said they would vote for the Democratic candidate while only ten percent claimed they would vote for incumbent George W. Bush.

Kerry addressed issues such as the economy, the environment, social security, and the military, but tailored his responses to a student audience. In answering a student's question about the future of unemployment and the economy, Kerry said, "You're all going to want jobs when you graduate from college. We're going to grow 10 million new jobs and they're going to be in fields such as high technology ... high end jobs that people need when they graduate."

Kerry added that his plans for environmental responsibility will be closely linked to the economy. "We're going to start down the road towards energy independence, and that sector alone will create an additional 500,000 high-end jobs in itself," he said.

In terms of the military and the occupation of Iraq, Kerry quickly assured students that there would be no draft. He had, however, previously suggested that an additional two military divisions be added to help stabilize Iraq.

"Adding two more divisions to Iraq will be done by having a more sensible foreign policy where young people don't feel as if their leadership is making irresponsible decisions," Kerry said. "If we have a more reasonable relationship with the rest of the world, we shouldn't have a problem filling those new divisions."

Kerry addressed a student question about social security with reassurance. "There is a lot of scare talk about social security from the Bush administration. I can guarantee you that social security will be there ... for your generation and the next," he said.

Kerry added that "I have no intention of privatizing social security like Bush is trying to do. If we move our economy forward, we're not going to have a massive problem with social security. If we roll back the tax cuts and begin to be responsible fiscally, we should be just fine."

Kerry's conference call is part of a broader effort to reach out to America's younger voting crowd. His "Change Starts with U" campaign will combine high-profile entertainment with voter registration and political organizing efforts, a press release for yesterday's conference call said.

Kerry's phone conference comes at a time when both the Democratic and Republican parties are realizing that college voters will be key in the 2004 election. A 2003 survey from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education showed that 59 percent of college students said they would "definitely be voting" in the 2004 election and 27 percent said they would "probably" vote. In 2000, only 32 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted. The survey authors said that politically aware college voters -- dubbed "campus kids" -- increased political participation because of high profile events such as the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.