Clinton hosts conference call, talks of improving college campuses

Hillary Clinton urged listeners during a conference call Thursday to actively seek out their peers and help them register to vote.

“Everything we do in the 61 days until Election Day really matters,” she said.

The Clinton campaign held a back-to-school phone call with Democratic student leaders and campus organizers from across the country. Clinton discussed ways to help students pay off student loans and the importance of millennial voters during the half-hour long conference call, while answering two questions from students.

Kunoor Ojha, the national campus director for the campaign, reminded students that Thursday marked two months until Election Day on Nov. 8. For the first time, she said, millennials will outnumber baby boomers, giving them the power to decide the election with their vote.

She said student organizations are a critical part of Clinton’s campaign.

“Now is not a time to sit on the sidelines,” Ojha said.

When Clinton spoke, she expressed her gratitude to student organizations and voters for supporting her from university campuses.

“I want to make a real difference in the lives of all Americans. I know that’s true for you too,”

she told students. “I started volunteering in campaigns when I was in college.”

In response to a question about student debt, Clinton said she intends to make sure students can refinance their loans at lower interest rates.

She added she wants to help make college more attainable by offering students a three-year grace period in which they don’t have to pay back their student loans.

Clinton also said she wants to make college campuses safer and healthier by increasing the availability of mental-health counseling, child-care services and addiction therapy on college campuses.

“I’m very committed to making sure nothing interferes with your education,” she said.

Jake Best, the president of the student organization Gators 4 Hillary, participated in the phone call.

He heard about the event through social media and from members of the campaign. He said Clinton’s devotion to helping people resonated with him, and the conference call proved that.

“They’ve been doing a great job at listening to what is important to us,” the 19-year-old UF journalism sophomore said.

He said Gators 4 Hillary is trying to help register voters to reach Clinton’s goal of 3 million new voters before the election. The deadline to register in Florida is Oct. 11.

“We are working as hard as we can to make sure she wins,” he said. “Its historic. She could be the first female president.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016.