Olivia Byrnes and Tyra Carter
Editors of Production
On Friday, April 1, Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton was welcomed to Syracuse. She was campaigning in New York before the upcoming New York Caucus on April 19. At 2 pm at the Regional Market, Hillary Clinton gave her opinion on small businesses and described her plans if she wins the presidential election. Many Jamesville-DeWitt High School students were fortunate enough to see her speak about her campaign.
Clinton advocated for women’s rights, lower college tuition, and more working class jobs in New York. She outlined her $10 million plan which will bring more jobs to the United States if she is elected. Her speech was around a half hour and she didn’t take any questions from the crowd
Seniors Anna Pluff and Maggie Mannion went to the rally and even got a selfie with Mrs. Clinton. “They moved us behind her so we would be seen on TV and to show that Clinton had a wide variety of supporters,” said Manion. Pluff noted how charismatic Clinton was; “she handled the crowd very well, people were ready to see Hillary. She was talking about jobs, economy, how she’s going to combat ISIS,” said Pluff. “She was really interesting to hear speak and she discussed her plan to help small businesses,” said senior Chloe Hayward who also attended the rally.
While in Syracuse, the former Secretary of State visited iconic restaurants, including Varsity Pizza located on Marshall Street, but her main focus was to explain the importance of small businesses.
Though Social Studies teacher Donna Oppedisano didn’t see Hillary Clinton on April 1, she saw her speak at a NYS Teachers’ Union Gathering in Rochester April 8. “She was speaking to a group of teachers, so everything was focused on education and people who are educators,” she said. One thing Mrs. Oppedisano took away from the speech was that she appreciated how Mrs. Clinton recognized that many educators are blamed for the issues in the education system. Mrs. Oppedisano has supported Clinton since she ran in 2008. She believes Clinton’s the smartest candidate, is super-experienced, and has a really good plan.
Clinton left a lasting impression on the students and staff who had seen her. “It was nice to be around a lot of other people who are also interested in politics,” says Mannion. It was a memorable event that positively impacted Clinton supporters and their thoughts about the election. “It deffinately opened my eyes to a lot more in politics, “ said Hayward.
