Clinton at UCR; promises healthcare, education

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke about her plans to create jobs, make higher education more affordable and increase access to healthcare to a crowd of about a thousand spectators at the University of California, Riverside on May 24.

While not everyone was pleased to have Clinton on campus -- several students protested her positions on war and minority rights before, during and after the event -- rally attendees were hopeful that, if elected, Clinton would reduce the cost of education and assist them with student debt.

UC Riverside’s population is 34.3 per cent Latino, and nearly half its students are the first in their families to go to college, many of whom lack the means to fund a four year degree on their own.

“We’re going to make college affordable so that you don’t have to borrow any money,” Clinton said. “We’re going to help you pay down your debt.” She went on to promise free community college and more government support for technical degrees for those who don’t wish to attend four year universities.

UC campuses -- particularly Riverside -- enroll large numbers of low income students.

“I paid my way through school. I have a lot of student debt. I don’t necessarily want that all to be forgiven and I don’t want the education for free, but what I do want is something reasonable, like low interest rates,” said Colton resident Vanessa Cadiz.

“A lot of us might not have a job when we graduate,” added second year UC Riverside student Jaime Brito, who is concerned he will be unable to pay off his loans when he graduates next year. In addition to lowering the cost of higher education, Clinton pledged to “put millions of Americans to work” if elected.

While she did not detail her plans for immigration reform in her speech, it’s an issue close to the hearts of many of Clinton’s supporters.

First year UC Riverside student Brenda Huerta is undocumented, as are her parents. “They need access to healthcare,” she said. “I think that’s something everybody should have regardless of immigration status.”

Like Huerta, Riverside resident Sylvia Duran has been affected by immigration policy. She is concerned that her uncle, who is a doctor in Mexico, will never be able to join the rest of her family in the US.

“My uncle’s been trying for a decade to try to get in here, and I feel like everybody’s been making it really hard,” she said, adding that her relatives living in the US all immigrated legally. “It’s just hurdle after hurdle to try to get here the right way.”

The Inland Empire’s rapidly changing demographics may explain its recent spotlight in the 2016 presidential race leading up to the California primary on June 7. Fellow presidential candidate Bernie Sanders held a campaign event in Riverside hours before Clinton’s, and another one in San Bernardino just afterward.

As of 2014, Latinos became half of the Inland Empire’s population, up by 47,000 people from 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Latino populations have historically been significant deciders in presidential races, making the region a newly important one for candidates for public office.

Clinton also expressed her support for veterans, the LGBT community and condemned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric as “divisive” and “really, really concerning.” She encouraged her supporters to get out and vote on June 7.

“The stakes could not be higher,” she said.

Zahn is an independent writer.