Dressed in orange, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton [14]voiced her committment to the Syracuse basketball teams headed to the final four. But Clinton was not in Syracuse to talk basketball. She was there to talk about the future of the country.
“Don’t count us out. We’ve got the grit, we’ve got the resilience and the determination,” Clinton said. “That’s what our country needs right now.”
Syracuse was one stop on Clinton's campaign for democratic nominee for president. Her visit to Syracuse started with a small business roundtable and a stop at Varsity Pizza [15]for lunch before wrapping up the day with a public rally at the Regional Market. [16]
Greeted by cheering fans, she addressed a number of issues ahead of the New York presidential primary on April 19 including jobs in Upstate New York, affordable education and women’s rights.
Clinton unveiled her $10 billion plan to revive manufacturing jobs in the United States. She also praised Gov. Andrew Cuomo for working to pass a $15/hour minimum wage bill in the New York Senate.
The candidate told supporters she would guarantee that students coming from middle-class families won’t have to borrow a dime to go to college and vowed to help those with student loans pay them back.
“If you can refinance a mortgage, if you can refinance a car, you’re going to be able to refinance your student debt,” Clinton said.
She emphasized it won’t be free for those who can afford it, nodding to her Republican competitor.
“I’m not spending one penny to give a free college education to any of Donald Trump’s [17] kids or grandkids,” Clinton said. “That’s for sure.”
The presidential hopeful was adamant about ensuring women get equal pay for equal work. She also said she will defend a woman’s right to make decisions about her body.
SU junior advertising student Shelby Guller praised Clinton’s efforts to change the “man’s game” of politics.
“If you think about all the policies around women’s issues and you’ve had men voting on it all these years,” Guller said. “To finally be able to have a say on issues like birth control and abortions would be so incredible for women and a big step towards equality.”
It wasn’t just Clinton’s supporters in attendance at the rally. A few protestors waved signs outside the Regional Market expressing their opposition of the former Secretary.
“She couldn’t even protect our own people when they were in Benghazi taking care of us as citizens,” protestor Mona Wood said.
Clinton beat President Obama in 2008 [18] in New York state and will look to win the state's vote again on April 19th.
