Runnymede Society Hosts Event for the State of the Union Address

On Tuesday, Houghton students had the opportunity to watch the broadcast of the President's annual State of the Union address delivered from Capitol Hill during an event sponsored by the Runnymede Pre-Law Society.

Prior to the speech, the "most emotional moment of the evening," as dubbed by a CNN commentator, was Gabrielle Giffords's entrance into the House chamber, where she was greeted with a standing ovation from her fellow congress members. Last year Giffords was shot in the head at a congressional meet-and-greet in her home state of Arizona. Giffords announced earlier in the week that she will be retiring from office to focus on her physical and mental recovery.

After giving Giffords a quick hug, President Obama addressed the nation, touching on issues such as jobs, public and higher education, energy, and international affairs. He also focused a significant segment of his speech on closing the gap between the wealthy and the middle class, mentioning tax strategies and ways in which the wealthy could help lift the burden of the middle class. Some students watching the speech disagreed with what he had to say on this matter. Sophomore Benjamin Hardy said, "He seems to think that there is a disconnect between jobs and those who create jobs," and Hardy went on to say that Obama "seems to know his political philosophy, but it fails to apply to the real world."

Other students had positive things to say about Obama's speech. Elizabeth Raucher, junior, felt that Obama's emphasis on "equal pay for equal work" for women, which he mentioned twice in his speech, was "striking." She also said that she liked his point of view on healthcare, though she felt that most Houghton students watching the speech probably felt differently. "I'm one of the few liberals here on campus, so I agreed with the President on a lot more than most people here on this issue."

Junior Jennifer Freeman appreciated Obama's ending comparison between the military and Congress's role, in which Obama stressed that Congress operate with more efficiency and unity. Freeman said, "I felt that this was a strong point for him. Americans really support the military and he seemed to be trying to improve people's opinion on Congress." However, senior Garrett Fitzsimmons felt that while Obama's comparison to the military was "interesting" in its emphasis on efficiency and unity, it was not necessarily a correct analogy. "The military doesn't accurately reflect the process of protecting the rights and liberties of our political system," said Fitzsimmons.

The Runnymede Pre-Law Society hopes to hold more pre-law and political events on campus. Senior Kathleen Elenfelt, president of Runnymede, said, "Currently we are working on hosting a Mock Trial event like we did last year, more LSAT practice for the pre-law students and we are starting to plan a forum that deals with law and politics. Also later on in the semester after…voting in the new cabinet members we want to have a transferring of power event for anyone who would like to come."