Reverend Jesse Jackson raises spirits

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the nation’s most influential political and religious figures,… The Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the nation’s most influential political and religious figures, spoke to hundreds of students in the William Pitt Union Ballroom yesterday, urging them to let their voice be heard on Election Day, now four days away.

Despite difficulties students potentially face with voting, such as the recent on-campus scam that left some with their registrations altered, Jackson reassured the audience that they will not be denied the opportunity to vote.

“[The opposition’s] will to silence us is strong, and our will to fight must be stronger,” Jackson said. “Do not let them break your spirit.”

Jackson was joined by Lanny Davis, former special counsel to former President Clinton from 1996 to 1998. Davis has been a vocal defender of Sen. John Kerry’s, D-Mass., military record, which has come under scrutiny during his run for the presidency.

“If someone challenges you at the polls on Election Day, you must challenge the challenger,” Davis said. He promised that there would be a lawyer associated with the Kerry campaign at every polling place in Pennsylvania to assist voters with problems.

Jackson recalled the efforts and sacrifices of civil rights activists Medger Evers and Nelson Mandela “all for the right to vote.”

“We have won battles over allowing people to vote,” Jackson said, citing past battles to allow minorities and youths to cast ballots. “They used to say 18-year-old men were old enough to fight in a war, but not old enough to vote.”

Jackson believes the current issue plaguing students is voting while at school when they are unable to return home.

“You have the right to vote where you attend school,” Jackson said.

Both Jackson and Davis emphasized that voters who encounter problems should demand to fill out a provisional ballot and get a receipt for it before leaving the polls.

During his speech, Jackson blasted the decision to invade Iraq, calling it a “misadventure led by misinformation” that has cost more than 1,000 American lives.

“Many children leave school, can’t find a job, and join the army to find themselves caught up in a war,” Jackson said. “No child of a congressman or Halliburton executive has died in this war,” referring to the energy company formerly led by Vice President Dick Cheney.

He continued to say “Saddam Hussein is now secure in jail, and gets three meals a day, while none of our soldiers have that security.”

Jackson believes several things have been missing during President George W. Bush’s administration.

“Where are the weapons of mass destruction?” he asked. “Where are the jobs? Where is the flu vaccine? Where has Cheney been?”

Jackson reported that 168,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in Pennsylvania since Bush’s inauguration. He also said 350,000 Pennsylvanian families have lost their health insurance, and 120,000 people have sunk below the poverty line.

“I haven’t seen such activism in students in 30 years,” Jackson said. “Young people seem determined to fight back.”

Jackson also expressed his concern with Bush labeling himself a “compassionate conservative” and nemesis of liberalism. He reassured the audience by saying “America is a liberal idea.”

Broadening the issues surrounding the election, Jackson said the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are “just captains of the team.” He named several organizations and individuals on Kerry’s team, including organized labor and environmental activists, drawing cheers from the audience.

Jackson also stressed the importance of this election in the future, mentioning the likelihood that at least one Supreme Court justice will be named during the next presidential term.

“This election is a down payment on 50 years of law,” Jackson said. “The decisions of Supreme Court justices outlast presidents and outlast generations.”

Jackson saw promise in the newly registered voters all over the state. More than 60,000 people have registered to vote in Allegheny County in the last six months — more than half of them in the Democratic Party — bringing the total electorate of the county to 921,008.