Calling for equal opportunities to receive healthcare, enroll in preschool and attend college in the United States, Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich engaged nearly 300 Boston University students in discussion Friday night at Morse Auditorium.
The Ohio representative, who ran for president in the 2004 presidential election, spoke of his past experiences as congressman and mayor of Cleveland, Ohio and his future plans for the United States if elected.
“[We have] capacity for incredible transformation,” he said, “socially, in the world, in politics, in life.”
If elected president, Kucinich said one of his main goals is to ensure healthcare and education are made universal for all U.S. citizens. He also said he was interested in ending nuclear-weapon development, “eliminating war as an instrument of policy” and raising awareness about climate change.
Kucinich told The Daily Free Press he has visited “well over a dozen” college campuses since he began campaigning.
“Students, in particular, are ready for a new world,” he said. “They can feel it . . . they understand.”
Co-sponsored by the International Students Consortium and the BU College Democrats, the speech and question-and-answer session was free and open to the public.
ISC Vice President Jessica Sklodowski said she contacted Kucinich’s representatives in October and was “really persistent” about getting him to speak on campus.
“We felt that doing flyers and stuff wasn’t really that effective,” said BUCD Communications Director David Sokolove, a CAS junior. “[We wanted to] really target who would be interested.”
“We are a gateway for diplomats,” said ISC President Bilal Bilici, a CAS senior. “This program just proves that we are a gateway, even [for] the domestic politicians.”