Hilary Clinton came to Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) Thursday Dec. 3, the appearance was part of the university’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Summit.
The second floor of the Dining Center was filled with secret service and extra security as the Democratic candidate arrived. The line for the event circled out of the Dining Center all the way to the Library Learning Commons.
The event’s crowd neared 600 as Clinton came to the stage with Donna Soucy, NH Senator from Manchester and SNHU’s MaryAnn Manoogian, Executive Director of the Center for Women’s Business Advancement.
The event was opened by SNHU Provost Patty Lynott who introduced the women speaking on the panel.
The Summit’s topic was women’s economic opportunity, but the speech given by Clinton to the audience was not limited only to opportunity, but change for the future. Clinton mentioned raising the country’s minimum wage, instituting paid family leave, and making it so that it was easier for community banks to lend to small businesses as an economic plan that helped both genders and the economy as a whole.
Clinton stated in her speech, “I want to be the small business President and I mean it.”
She went on to speak about women’s economic opportunity stating, “When women are strong, families are strong and when families are strong, America is strong.”
Clinton’s speech to the crowd was derailed from the topic of women to focus on the instance of gun violence that had happened in San Bernadino, California the day before. Clinton made a call for stricter gun control in America.
Clinton commented, “If you’re too dangerous to fly in America, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America. How can anyone of good conscious disagree with that?”
When the discussion was opened up for questions, there was another change in topic. The final question from the audience, asked by Khaleel Shreet, a Syrian student at SNHU, asked Clinton what she thought of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the revolution and conflict that has affected Syria in past years.
Clinton responded to Shreet’s question by saying that she didn’t see a military solution to the Syrian crisis, and that this solution must involve the removal of President Assad.
“We can’t say we’re going to only focus on Assad or only focus on ISIS. We have two very serious problems that are most significantly causing such death and destruction for the Syrian people, but now even beyond Syria.”
