Rep. Summer Lee speaks to College Democrats at Pitt, addresses concerns of young voters

Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania’s 12th district spoke to College Democrats at Pitt Wednesday night, addressing concerns from younger voters.

Lee is campaigning for a second term against Republican James Hayes and is currently 14 points ahead of him in the polls, according to FiveThirtyEight. Lee delivered brief remarks reaffirming some of her priorities for office — including the cost of living, infrastructure and environmental justice. Lee, who endorsed Kamala Harris for president, also took time to emphasize the importance of this election.

“This is one of those moments where we’ve read about history and we are doing the big, great shaping of society, and there are different factions trying to shape our country for generations to come,” Lee said. “And I think, and I hope that you agree, that the people who should be shaping [the country] should be more like the people in this room and less like the people who are in the rooms that I work with.”

The Pitt News asked Lee about why it’s important for her to be speaking with voters on college campuses during this election. She said she believes that elections “can feel so disempowering” for younger voters.

“I just want to, to the best of my ability, facilitate young folks in expressing their own values and expressing and building their own politics, and empower them in that process,” Lee said. 

As Gen Z, with an estimated 40.8 million eligible voters, emerges as one of the larger voting blocs this election season, Lee said she wants them to know their perspective is “as important as any other demographic.” 

“As important it is that our seniors and our elders are able to participate and speak up, they are very confident in it, and they know how to do it because they practiced it,” Lee said. “And we want our young folks to feel as confident.”

The Pitt News also asked Lee how she reconciles differences in view between herself and the rest of the Democratic party, particularly pertaining to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Lee has faced backlash from others in the Democratic party and within her district for her criticisms of Israel’s attacks on Gaza. 

“I recognize that there is a history within our party’s stance around [the Israel-Palestine conflict], that there’s tension around, but tension isn’t always the worst thing,” Lee said. “Sometimes you have to work through things, but if we run away from the conversation, then we’re never going to get any closer to peace.”

Lee participated in a question and answer session with students where several participants expressed their frustration with the current government and the upcoming election. Halley Katz, a junior legal studies major, asked Lee what she had to say to voters who feel “jaded and burnt out” and “just kind of miserable” about the electoral system.

“To live in this world of wanting to avoid the worst of humanity while also trying to preserve the best of humanity is just very disempowering and frustrating and lonely sometimes,” Katz said.

Lee encouraged voters who are too jaded to interact with the election to reclaim their power by picking “the one that you feel you have the most power over.”

“You don’t have the privilege of stepping back,” Lee said. “I think about the people in my ancestry who felt jaded and I think about them who were actually, literally shackled, and they had every reason to believe that nothing would ever change. And the one thing that I always end with at the end of the night is that the most inevitable force on Earth is change.”

Another student brought up “demoralization” that some young voters may be feeling in relation to the election and the Democratic party, referring to Democrats working with Republican Liz Cheney and Harris maintaining a pro-fracking stance.

The student asked Lee about the direction of the Democratic party and “how young people [can] feel a little bit more justified in voting for Kamala Harris.”

“Every election cycle, the primary is for shaping the party, and the general is for shaping the country,” Lee said. “[The primary] is the only opportunity that you have if you want [the party] to be more reflective of you, more reflective of us.”

Pat Francis, a first-year Pitt law student and press secretary for College Democrats at Pitt, said they wanted Summer Lee to come speak to the club as a younger, progressive and energetic member of Congress. 

“I hope that people feel inspired by the Democratic ticket to see hope in the future of the party and inspiration to get involved themselves,” Francis said.

Katz said they attended the meeting because they “love Summer [Lee].”

“I know [if] there’s any individual in the world that could make me feel better about this election, it was her,” Katz said. “And she did it because she knows how — she always does.”