The basement of Rockefeller Hall was abuzz Sunday with alternating periods of loud chatter and complete silence. Attendees waited anxiously for the arrival of Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88, “Friday Night Lights” and “Nashville” actress Connie Britton ’89, Democratic Rep. Ann McLane Kuster ’78 and New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan.
The panel, organized by the New Hampshire branch of Hillary for America, addressed the presidential race, women’s rights, Hassan’s senate race and Kuster’s representative race.
In her speech, Kuster reflected on being a member of one of the first graduating classes at the College that included women. Touching on issues relevant to college campuses, Kuster directly stated the need for the country to talk openly about sexual assault.
Kuster then introduced Gov. Hassan who mentioned New Hampshire’s achievements and her desire to continue that record on the federal government scale if elected U.S. Senator.
“My race comes down to whether we are going to take the New Hampshire way of doing things to Washington. That’s when people work together across party lines as we have here in New Hampshire to get things done for middle class families and for small businesses,” Hassan said.
Hassan cited bi-partisan Medicaid expansion and increased employment as examples of her record in New Hampshire.
She then talked about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, describing him as someone who sees “cruelty as sport.”
Hassan also discussed how her opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Ayotte, supported corporate special interests and Trump. Hassan noted that Ayotte only began to withdraw her support for Trump after seeing the recently released recordings in which Trump was heard making reference to sexually assaulting women and realizing that was not “politically popular.”
Hassan suggested that this was a trend in Ayotte’s campaign, expanding on Ayotte’s past views and policies and their implications for students and women’s health. Hassan closed by emphasizing inclusivity in shared prosperity, what she referred to as “American and Granite State” values.
“Please get out there and vote,” Hassan said. “I hope you vote for me. And please do everything you can to convince your fellow students and citizens to vote, too. This is a critical election.”
Sen. Gillibrand spoke next, recalling her time at Dartmouth as an Asian Studies major and a tennis and squash player. She turned to the importance of students in this election, challenging them to have uncomfortable conversations with loved ones voting for candidates whose values run counter to their own.
Gillibrand then introduced Britton, her foreign study roommate in Beijing, China, noting Britton’s United Nations Ambassador position and her willingness to fight for women’s rights.
Britton started her talk off lightly, telling the audience, “I’m gonna sit down because we’re all gonna have a chat.”
She then discussed aspiration and how her aspirations and the formation of her values began at Dartmouth. Britton also stressed that all of one’s aspirations, such as selecting a partner and deciding on a career path, are influenced by the outcome of this election.
“Take a risk using your voice, see what happens, see if you actually can create the world that you want,” said Britton.
In a question and answer session, an attendee who identified himself as a “young conservative” asked the panel what they would say to him to get him to consider the “other side.”
Gillibrand responded by asking if he supports clean air and clean water, equal pay for equal work and a woman’s ability to make her own decisions about abortion and contraceptives. After he responded “yes” to each question, Gillibrand pointed at him and said, “Vote Democrat” and “You need to vote for Maggie, and you need to vote for Hillary, period.” She emphasized that the current Republican candidate did not share the student’s values.
Gillibrand also mentioned the Statue of Liberty’s significance in American history, adding that Trump’s views on “building walls” and banning Muslim entrance into the country are antithetical to the values embodied by the Statue.
Hassan also answered the question with an emphasis on compromise.
Britton also told the questioner that “you’re not betraying your party” by voting on your values.
A female Dartmouth student asked about being a woman in the workforce and gender roles.
Kuster urged the student to get more involved in politics in order to “change the dialogue” and be able to pass laws that would impact women, including those related to sexual assault. The U.S. Representative then took a moment to say that what was said by Trump in the tapes recently released was unacceptable.
When asked about voter turnout in an interview following the event, Britton reiterated the emphasis on values, regardless of what party the candidate represents or what gender they are.
“In my opinion, the greatest threat to democracy is apathy, particularly in this election,” Britton said. “It’s very easy to feel beleaguered and let down by our process. I think we have to all stand strong against that and know that we are all citizens in a democracy, and that is a great gift and a great right and a great responsibility. So everybody do what you need to do, get people out to vote.”
The event itself put a spotlight on the election and turnout, featuring many campaign advertisements including Clinton-Kaine posters, Clinton Anti-Trump posters stating “Love trumps hate” and “Vote Democrats. Stop Trump.” Student volunteers for the campaign scurried up and down the aisle asking attendees to get involved in the campaign, through phone banking, canvassing or signing “commit to vote” cards.
Most in the packed auditorium were Dartmouth students, but a few audience members also came to Dartmouth just for the event. Well over half of the audience was female.
Casey Smith, a senior majoring in political theory and Middle Eastern studies at Wesleyan University, traveled to Hanover with four friends to attend Sunday’s event.
Lawrence Abu-Hammour ’19 attended the event with a camera in hand, acting as a freelance photographer for Dartmouth Undergraduate Admissions. He came to the event in hope of meeting Sen. Gillibrand and learning more about the other speakers.
Abu-Hammour, who comes from a Muslim family, discussed how the “hateful rhetoric from the other party is unacceptable,” and said it affects him as a youth.
Alex Lopez ’15, an organizer for the event, spoke about how this election is a choice between “progress or aggression.” He also mentioned how close the presidential race and the Senate race between Hassan and Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte were, which he deemed surprising “seeing who our competition are.”
Julia Cohen ’18 said that Gillibrand’s response to the conservative student’s question resonated most with her: “This [election] goes beyond party lines, it’s about morality and what you care about as a person.”
Alexandra is a ’20 from New York and is unsure of what she plans to study, but has interests in neuroscience, geography, and human-centered design. Alexandra has written for The D since her freshman fall, and she enjoys meeting people and learning about various groups on campus through her articles.
