On Monday, United States President Joseph R. Biden Jr. visited our Madison College campus to announce his new federal student debt relief plan and renew his commitment to offering free tuition for two-year community and technical colleges.
I was one of the lucky ones, being what I believe to be the ONLY Madison College student invited to have a seat at this event. That does call to question the privilege that I have been afforded over others and why more students weren’t invited to this event.
I am the next incoming President of the Madison College Student Senate, an officer of the Wisconsin Student Government, and a writer for The Clarion Newspaper. I think that I have put in the work to “deserve this spot” that was given to me, but I also think there are many other students at our school who should have been in the room with me—not just as student volunteers but as direct invitees from the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach.
I also believe that for a Wisconsin local event centered on educational policy and debt forgiveness, one might think that students would be offered the opportunity to come into the college they attend and listen to what our current President of the United States has to say about his plans for reelection. Make no mistake, this event was meant to be a pitch to student voters, those who would be impacted by his education plans, but that message fell on absent ears because there were barely any students in the room to listen.
Despite the strict security protocols that were implemented on campus, students were naturally curious and attempted to get into our gymnasium so they could get a glimpse of the highest-ranking office in American politics. There were also protesters advocating for a Gaza cease-fire and peace for the people of Palestine. Rather than acknowledge the concerns of student voters, he chose to ignore them so he could focus on the debt relief plan. And while I respect the initiatives of his office for educational policy, he needs to do more work to secure the student vote.
If President Biden wanted, he could have made the effort to allow students into the room, but he didn’t. And he certainly could have name dropped Madison College as the venue host for his event, but he didn’t. These are just the low-bar efforts that I would have liked to have seen from his campaign, but he didn’t cross that threshold.
I’ll be real. In an almost absolute likelihood, I’m voting for President Biden’s reelection in November. However, that vote shouldn’t be taken for granted, and real, grassroots efforts need to be made to inspire young people to vote.
We weren’t given the opportunity to ask any questions afterward, not about the War in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, not about support for Dreamers from the DACA-funded program, and not about investing in climate programs for the future of our planet. I wanted a chance to share my opinions and have my voice heard, but being placated by power isn’t enough to stifle my criticism.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful to be in the room where it happened, but I also don’t think this event landed fully. I want to see his office try again by making real connections with the people of Wisconsin, especially young student voters. We can build a coalition and win, but you gotta bring forth your best efforts.