College Democrats provide health care education
College-aged students lack health care.
Published Oct. 9, 2009
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College Democrats set up a tent Wednesday on Speakers Circle in an attempt to get fellow students to sign a petition pushing for a public health care option. In addition to a traditional written petition, the College Democrats are also working to create a photo petition.
As the health care issue heats up in Congress and town halls across America, the College Democrats have taken the debate to the streets. College Democrats set up the Day of Action on Wednesday at Speakers Circle as part of a nation-wide event.
"If you look at the statistics, those age 19 to 29, that's the largest cohort of uninsured Americans," MU College Democrats President Brian Roach said. "We're trying to bring home the reality that, while a lot of us are young and we feel kind of invincible, health care really affects us."
Supporters stood in Speakers Circle holding signs and asked passers-by to sign a petition for health care reform.
Photographs were also taken of various reform supporters. Roach said the photographs put a face to the name on the petition and that petition will be sent to Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
In addition to the petition, the College Democrats worked to educate students on the health care debate.
"I think the most important thing is to get the right information, to study up," Roach said. "Not everything you see in the media is necessarily true, so you need to find out for yourself."
Junior Alanna Bauer volunteered for the Day of Action.
"People just automatically assume they are against (health care reform) because of party standing or from what they think they have heard," Bauer said. "A lot of people aren't truly informed about what it's all about."
Volunteer Lily Tinker Fortel was at the event representing Grass Roots Organizing, a non-partisan, social action, non-profit organization based out of Mexico, Mo.
"We are working with a national organization called Health Care For America Now, which is working on generating tens of thousands of contacts to Congress," Tinker Fortel said.
GRO works on a variety of consumer rights issues. Their main area of focus is health care reform, she said.
Tinker Fortel said young people, in particular, need to be aware of the health care debate.
"Even though we feel young and healthy, anything could happen at any moment and we're not invincible," Tinker Fortel said.
Roach said health care is an important issue for students.
"This is about the time when students and young adults are being dropped from their parents health insurance," Roach said. "So, this is a big issue for students. A big issue for young people in general."
Bauer said the College Democrats' push for health care reform won't stop after the Day of Action.
"We are fighting for health care until we get something passed," Bauer said.
Roach said College Democrats were trying to form a health care debate with the College Republicans in the future.
Regardless of age or political affiliation, everyone is affected by the health care debate, Tinker Fortel said.
"It's not a partisan issue, the health care reform discussion, this is an American issue," she said. "People deserve access to quality affordable health care and we got to come together and make sure that the voice of the American people is recognized in this discussion."
9:34 a.m., Oct. 9, 2009
Brandon said:
If there weren't any constitutional issues, I would pass a public option bill that ALSO tells states, "Hey, if you want to administer the public option to your residents, you're gonna have to get rid of a lot of these asinine regulations that reduce consumer choice and raise premiums." I would also tell them to end the ridiculous regulations that prevent consumers from buying private insurance across state lines. NO ONE has the right to deny me my right as an American consumer to buy something from whatever other state I feel like. If we're gonna be a FEDERALIST, not a unitary or confederal, republic, we cannot let nonsense like that go on.