Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York encouraged student journalists around the country to use their voices at the HerCampus press conference Thursday.
Sponsored by Biden for President, co-founder Windsor Hanger Western of HerCampus Media held a virtual conversation with Democratic Senator Gillibrand regarding the election, addressing topics of COVID-19, healthcare and women in politics.
“You are smart enough, tough enough and capable enough for any job you want to do,” Gillibrand told the college women across the 400 HerCampus chapters.
The senator, who ran in the Democratic presidential race, urged the journalists to not only vote this election but to involve themselves in politics for the long term.
The only way women’s voices will be reflected in the system is if they actively participate in the system, she said.
Gillibrand told the viewers of a PPE program bill she drafted that would give minority and women-owned businesses more access to capital, asserting the power she has as part of the Senate and what she stands for.
The senator expressed that her ideas are supported by Democratic candidates Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, implying the passing of progressive legislation, especially in healthcare, in the case of a new president and a flipped Senate.
If President Trump’s plan to cease ObamaCare is successful, millions will lose access to healthcare, women will be charged more and preexisting conditions with COVID-19 will lose coverage, said the senator.
“We will get access to health care as a right,” she said.
Gillibrand acknowledged institutional racism as a leading setback in healthcare, speaking of the high maternal mortality rates due to the issue, demonstrating to the young crowd that a left-leaning administration would be one to speak up against it.
She also identified the COVID-19 pandemic as a top factor carrying this election, calling out the President for using his power “so poorly” to help the people.
A different president would have used the Defense Production Act for access to PPE and ventilators, they would have mandated our manufacturers create a supply chain to keep us safe, she said.
The press conference held only five days before Election Day stood as a reminder for what Gillibrand called “the most important election of your lifetime.”
“It’s our country, it’s your future, it’s our democracy that’s at stake,” said Gillibrand.
ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 3RD. EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT AND VOTE TODAY.