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Volume 68 No. 2
Reporting truth. Serving our community.
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
VP Kamala Harris campaigns at post-debate Wilkes-Barre rally
Connor Niszczak / The Slate
Vice President Kamala Harris addresses over a thousand rallygoers at a Friday night rally on the campus of Wilkes University Connor Niszczak & Reagan Gardenhour
Editor-in-Chief & Managing Editor
Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris continued a string of campaign events in Pennsylvania as she hosted a rally at Wilkes University on Friday afternoon. Harris, just days after her debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump, spoke to roughly a thousand Pennsylvanians in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, which Trump won in 2020 by more than 14%. The Harris campaign is targeting rural areas of the commonwealth that typically lean Republican. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited Lancaster earlier this month and Harris’ campaign was the first to ever open an office in Ephrata. Harris was introduced by Scranton native Mary Grace Vidala, who described herself as a lifelong Republican who can no longer support the party’s nominee. “Pennsylvania, it’s time to turn the page once and for all. That is why I am so excited to cast my vote for Kamala Harris in November.” In her 25-minute stump speech, Harris laid out her promises to
voters and echoed her vision for America that she has shared in campaign stops across the country and in the Sept. 10 presidential debate. Harris criticized Trump for pushing ideas from the “same old tired playbook” and said America is ready for a new generation of leadership. “We are not going back because America is ready for a new way forward,” Harris said. Harris made news by pledging to cut “unnecessary degree requirements” for federal jobs to allow more opportunity to adults without a college degree. According to data released by the Census Bureau in 2023, roughly 38% of Americans have obtained a bachelor’s degree. An analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer, published earlier this month, found that from 2016 to 2020, communities where less than 18% have a bachelor’s degree voted 32% more Republican. Earning votes from lesser-educated voters in rural areas like Wilkes-Barre will continue to be a fight for the Harris ticket. About halfway through her speech, Harris was interrupted by
several pro-Palestinian protestors, who were quickly shouted down by wwwothers in the crowd and escorted from the venue by security. Harris responded by saying now is the time for a ceasefire and that she has been “working around the clock to get that done.” “I respect your voice, but right now, I am speaking,” Harris said. Harris’s speech was aimed toward middle-class Americans and the promise of her so-called “opportunity economy.” “Small business owners are the backbone of America’s economy, which is why part of my plan will give a $50,000 tax deduction to start-up small businesses,” Harris said. “I will always put middleclass, working people first.” Before Harris took the stage, the crowd heard from several unannounced speakers including Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Bob Casey. Shapiro, who has become one of the most prominent Harris/ Walz surrogates, surprised an enthusiastic crowd with his appearance. He expressed his gratitude toward Vice President Harris during the rally, stating that “she’s always been for the people.” Shapiro praised the “real freedom” of the Democratic Party in his speech at the Democratic
Election Update: 49 Days to Election Day Ian Thompson News Editor
As the presidential race enters its final seven weeks, both campaigns have been spending a lot of time in the Keystone State. Pennsylvania is among several battleground states that will decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election with its 19 electoral college votes. Pennsylvania’s importance was highlighted in the first, and perhaps only, debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris since she replaced President Joe Biden as the Democratic Party nominee. The Sept. 10 debate held in Philadelphia highlighted the differences in temperament and policy stances between Harris and Trump. Candidates faced off on immigration, with Trump levying attacks on Harris’ record and the Biden-Harris administration’s
inaction on border policy. Harris placed blame on Trump for his role in stopping bipartisan immigration legislation from passing so that he could campaign on a crisis at the southern border. On the economy, Trump promised to bring back American manufacturing jobs by instituting blanket tariffs on imported goods. Experts warn, however, that like tariffs implemented during Trump’s first term, such a policy would likely result in dramatically increased prices for consumers. Harris’ economic message focused on policies she says will help the middle class. These included $25,000 in down payment aid for first-time homebuyers, tax rebates for small businesses, and an increase to child tax credits. Harris was questioned on her stance on fracking, an issue that is on the mind of many Pennsylvanians. Harris previously supported banning the practice, but has come out in support of it.
Abortion was another hotly contested issue. Trump congratulated himself for his role in the Supreme Court’s overturning of the landmark case Roe v. Wade, which had protected the right to abortion nationwide. Harris put emphasis on the human impact of the state laws restricting abortion, especially in cases of rape and incest. During a discussion on immigration, Trump pushed baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. “In Springfield they’re eating dogs,” Trump said. “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating … the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.” The claims, which have been disproven according to NBC, have sparked racialized harassment in the small city. The Trump campaign has stated that it will not participate in another debate against Harris.
National Convention and said during the rally “We’re a nation that loves freedom. We’re a nation that cherishes democracy. We’re a nation that has always come together when things get tough, and we have always advanced the cause of freedom.” Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who is up for reelection in November, criticized his opponent, Dave McCormick, and accused him of living in Connecticut while claiming to be a Pennsylvania resident. Casey and McCormick have agreed to multiple debates across the state, the first of which will take place in Harrisburg on Oct. 3.
“He doesn’t understand our commonwealth, and he doesn’t understand the people that make our commonwealth great,” Casey said. “I’m going to win this race.” “We’re going to continue to fight for [working class] families, tackle the fentanyl crisis and take care of our children and our seniors,” Casey said. With just over 50 days to go until the election and more than $400 million in advertising already spent, Pennsylvania’s politics will continue to be in the national spotlight.
Connor Niszczak / The Slate
Hundreds of rallygoers voiced their support by waving Harris/ Walz signs throughout the rally.
Faculty voice frustration with rollout of university period product initiative
Connor Niszczak Editor-in-Chief
“It’s free. Period.” Walk into any women’s or all-gender restroom on campus this semester, and you will now be welcomed by that tagline. Announced by SU News on Aug. 12, free period products are now available campuswide. Supported by the division of Student Affairs, baskets of tampons and other menstrual products are available for all students, with additional supplies offered in Big Red’s Cupboard.
The announcement of SU’s new initiative was brief — a press release of just over 200 words — but the fight for free menstrual products and gender equity on campus has been long. Misty Knight, the director of SU’s Women and Gender Studies (WST) program, has worked with students over the years to advocate for additional access to menstrual products. Knight, who has worked at SU since 2008, detailed how conversations surrounding access to period products and increasing gender
equity on campus have been taking place for over a decade. But conversations have not always led to action. “It was just constantly pushback,” Knight said. “Then, when [students] said that they wanted to start stocking [bathrooms] for free, like, as a class project, they were told that they weren’t allowed to do it, because then people would start expecting it.” So for several years, students and faculty members within the English, WST and other departments See “PERIOD,” A2