Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) speaks from the steps of The Ohio Statehouse to address the current state of politics in the country at the March for Our Lives demonstration in Columbus on March 24, 2018. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor
Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown came to campus Wednesday afternoon for an early vote rally at the Moritz College of Law.
Brown, who is running for reelection, spoke briefly to undergraduate and law students at the event that was hosted by College Democrats at Ohio State, Moritz College of Law Democrats and the Ohio Democratic Party.
The event was aimed to hype up students for early voting, which began Oct. 10. Students eagerly gathered in the Saxbe Auditorium in Moritz to hear Brown speak about the importance of student votership.
“This generation of students at Ohio State and around the country are the most activist, aware students because of social media and commitment to a better country,” Brown said.
The career politician and reliable progressive voiced his advocacy for student-related policies and social issues.
“I fight for lower interest rates for student loans. I fight for loan forgiveness programs if people wanna be nurses or work in public service,” Brown said. “I’ve always stood for civil rights and workers’ rights and gay rights.”
Students actively engaged with Brown’s speech and many lined up for a chance to meet him at the end.
“I am a big Sherrod Brown fan so I made sure I sat in the front row to see him,” Peter Campanelli, a first-year in computer science engineering, said. “Any opportunity I can to see my politicians and meet them is exciting to me, and, of course, I am a fan as well.”
Other students noted the importance of the event being a motivator for politically active students.
“I want them to feel inspired to talk to people who aren’t engaged and get them involved as well,” Alexis Oberdorf, president of College Democrats at Ohio State and third-year in foreign policy and security, said. “I want this to be a jump-off point for students around campus to connect with each other about why it’s important to vote.”
Brown stressed the importance of the Ohio midterms in reforming Ohio’s state politics.
“I think the governor race is important because this state for years has underfunded higher education, this state has underfunded public health,” Brown said. “We have a state government that the gun lobby controls, we have a state government that is very anti choice, we have a state government thats anti gay rights and we need an entirely new direction.”
Brown’s politically-charged speech addressed a wide array of prominent media topics.
“If you care about climate change and civil rights and women’s rights and if what happened to Dr. Ford bothered you, then you should go out and vote and change the world,” he said.
