DURHAM, N.H. – Those most impacted by college debt say it is no coincidence that U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday joined Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at a rally at University of New Hampshire in Durham.
Lucas Meyer, president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats, says Sanders and Clinton were correct in noting that the Granite State has the most students carrying college debt and that debt is tops in the nation.
"In 2011, our state legislature made the largest cut to higher education in our country's history,” he points out. “That's kids' pocketbooks, we felt that, and that's become a huge issue in the state."
Sanders told the college audience that he and his former rival came together on an agreement. Sanders said every family in this country earning $125,000 a year or less should be able to send their children to public colleges and universities tuition free.
Elena Ryan, co-president of New Hampshire College Democrats, says she believes younger voters are coming home to the Democratic nominee. And she adds that the Republican nominee has provided no reason for college students to vote for him.
"Hillary really has some very concrete policy that she wants to implement, and that I think she has a chance to implement,” she points out. “The only thing Donald Trump has had to do with higher education is opening up Trump University, which definitely was not a positive thing. I don't think higher education should be run as a private business at all."
Clinton also urged audience members to remember they will not only be voting for president, and to keep in mind how each party proposes addressing their key issues.
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Younger voters in the Granite State say Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton picked the right issue when they talked about student debt Wednesday at UNH. (L. Meyer)
September 29, 2016