Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has served in Congress for 13 years. // Photo courtesy of Congress.
Hofstra University opened its doors to the Long Island community on Thursday, Oct. 6, hosting the first town hall this year with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
Gillibrand, a New York native, was appointed to the Senate in Aug. 2009 after the seat was vacated when former first lady Hillary Clinton was appointed to be secretary of state.
Hofstra President Susan Poser introduced the senator and shared what it was like meeting her.
“Several months ago, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Sen. Gillibrand at her office in Washington, D.C.,” Poser said. “She was very generous with her time and impressed upon me her dedication to our state and to our country and doing the right thing.”
Poser highlighted issues that Gillibrand continuously advocates for and that students can relate to.
“Sen. Gillibrand is leading the fight to reform the justice system for sexual assault survivors in the military and on college campuses,” Poser said.
Jeremyah Jones, a first-year law student, was born in New York but moved to Tennessee for 15 years. After coming back for law school, Jones decided to learn more about government officials in the state.
“I just wanted to see how she would answer questions,” Jones said.
Jones compared this town hall to the ones in the South.
“It was pretty rare in Tennessee to see that kind of fervor in town halls,” Jones said. “They’re usually a lot drier.”
Although Jones did not have a question for Gillibrand, he said it was beneficial to have the opportunity to listen to community members’ concerns regarding issues they care about.
Many audience members voiced their concerns regarding the overturning of Roe v. Wade. One attendee told a story about her grandchildren and shared that one of her granddaughters suffered two ectopic pregnancies.
Before answering the question, Gillibrand explained how medical procedures like dilation and curettage (D&C) can be considered an abortion in some states and might have to go through the court. D&C is the removal of tissue in the uterine lining that is usually performed after a miscarriage, abortion, childbirth and/or unexplained bleeding, according to Reproductive Facts.
“[What] I want to do, and what I hope everyone here does, is to be heard on the issue. We have the First Amendment, the right to free speech,” Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand acknowledged that people have the right to practice freedom of religion but urged that people should not impose their beliefs on someone making their own reproductive decisions.
“No matter what your personal views are, it is a matter of what your personal decision would be if you were in that situation,” Gillibrand said. “Lifesaving care needs to be available to women in this country. It’s a hard issue. It’s one we’re going to have to fight for and do it legislatively.”
Justice Clarence Thomas was nominated in July 1991 by former President George H. W. Bush to replace Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American on the Supreme Court.
After Bush’s nomination, sexual harassment accusations surfaced from a former employee of Thomas, Anita Hill. Hill worked at the Department of Education and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas denied the claims and called the investigation “high tech lynching.” Thomas took the oath of office on Oct. 23, 1991.
Using Justice Thomas as an example for his question, Nicholas Issacs, a freshman political science major, asked Gillibrand if there should be more consequences for appointed and elected officials when they lie in front of Congress.
“I think they were intentional. If this was a corporation, and this is a public filing, they’d be guilty of fraud. So I think they should be held accountable,” Gillibrand said. “Now, how do you hold the Supreme Court justice accountable? The only way you can do that is through impeachment, which would take [a lot of] time.”
The National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 required the Federal Communications Commission to designate 988 as the universal number for mental health crises and suicide prevention.
In its full first month of operation after its instatement in July, data showed a 45% increase in calls, chats and text messages alongside an improvement in answer rates and response times in Aug. 2022 compared to Aug. 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Gillibrand, a co-sponsor of the senate bill, discussed the increased hotline usage.
“It’s devastating to know that you have a 45% increase in calls to the suicide prevention hotline. It’s a blessing that we have the hotline,” Gillibrand said. “If you see an increase that much, you know the need is even greater. That’s the part we have to just keep focusing on – getting resources into communities, helping our health care services [and] encouraging more people to go into therapy and go … into medical fields because we desperately need more personnel.”
Gillibrand explained that the increase in calls could be a result of the pandemic.
“COVID-19 was not easy. It was very hard. It was very hard for students to be isolated like that, to miss some of their most important life moments like high school graduations, high school proms, high school field trips [and] college events. It really was hard,” Gillibrand said.
Other students reflect on the senator’s presence during the town hall.
“It’s a very concerning time,” Issacs said. “But I am at least comforted that we have people like Sen. Gillibrand who are going to try and fight for us in Congress.”