Because it's very mindful and very demure to go vote in November's elections.
Photo: Megan Gallardo, UIC Bonfire Student Newspaper
We have reached the time where my hometown Chicago gets to host the Democratic National Convention to pitch the presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. As the first in-person convention that gets hosted since the pandemic, being able to attend my first convention and be a part of history has been such an unforgettable experience and an honor to be reporting on behalf of the UIC Bonfire Student Newspaper.
At last, I get to reflect on the four days of the Democratic Convention and essentially, what we have to look out for as we head onto Election Day on November 5th.
Day 1 Theme: "For the People”
As the first day of the convention launches, I will admit that I got mistaken as an Illinois delegate, so I had the privilege to experience the evening's events from the ground floor. I met some Illinois political figures such as Mike Quigley, Susana Mendoza and even briefly spoke with Chuy Garcia about his advice for younger voters during this election season.
"It is time to act, it is time to spread the word. With all the protests going on, if they want to change something, they need to do something. They need to vote instead of sitting around and being complacent, waiting for something to happen. A vote is like a silent prayer," Garcia said in one of his remarks.
Throughout the night, we focused on the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris Administration which included battling the global pandemic, the nationwide high speed internet which benefitted students across the US during their remote learning as well as the record-high number of people signing up for healthcare. There was a reinforcement of the patriotic core American Values, the importance of family, of fighting for a better future and many reminders of the harm we went through as a nation under Trump's administration.
We get our first appearance of the Project 2025 book featuring Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow who presents some of the pages of this 900+ page document including the proposal to disband all labor unions and to change the way the government works. This, according to McMorrow, would create "an army of loyalists who answer only to Donald Trump," which would lead to the FBI's being like personal bodyguards for the ex-president.
Photo: Megan Gallardo, UIC Bonfire Student Newspaper
The night transitioned into union labors and the importance of rights for the working class including a wide variety of speakers like Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee who delivered a moving speech about the difficulties of being a woman in politics, urging us to help "break the glass ceiling" by electing a woman for president.
To close the evening, First Lady Jill Biden and her daughter, Ashley Biden discussed the indelible impact Joe Biden had left behind, reminding the nation that moving forward, we would be in good hands. Joe Biden gave his speech, mentioning how he gave it his all to work to serve the needs of the people and that voting for Kamala Harris will ensure that our needs get put first rather than voting for Trump.
At times, it felt surreal to be a part of the crowd and to hear the loud cheering, but one could feel the energy and excitement for whichever speaker that would come next. As someone who had been skeptical in terms of what to do moving forward in the election, this was a promising start to inform myself of where my vote should go.
Day 2 Theme:“A Bold Vision for America’s Future”
In a more chaotic day of the convention, I settled to have some snacks before the evening and once again, got mistaken for being a delegate which was one of the most amusing parts of my time at the DNC.
Photo: Megan Gallardo, UIC Bonfire Student Newspaper
I had the honor of meeting Lydia E. York, the first African American woman to be elected to an executive office in Delaware history. As the state auditor, we got to chat about our journey to the convention, the energy felt in this event and even the silly food prices at the convention. We also discussed the impact of young people protesting for a ceasefire in Gaza as York imparted some advice for protestors and young voters alike.
"Remember that we can only succeed when there is a goal in mind. Once you have that, then the path to making progress can be clearer. Change takes time, and it is never simple. Complex problems have complex solutions, but if we keep this in mind and have a clear goal established, that is a step forward."
As one of the many quotes that remain with me, I head into the evening sitting in the third floor. The evening restates the importance of healthcare and women's reproductive rights. Some former Republican voters now pledge to support Kamala Harris and there was brief focus on the protection of American pensions and retirement funds. While the night did not focus much on Education which is a concern near and dear to my heart (as a future educator!), we go on to the roll call.
Which... time seemed to blur when the roll call started. It turns out this part lasted almost an hour and the prospect of going through all the delegates of all fifty states plus the surrounding territories felt a bit long-winded. Despite that, the crazy playlist with a song dedicated to each place was an interesting twist to the evening that shifted a night of politics to seem like a party or bash that would happen right before school starts.
This led to a night dedicated to more music and entertainment instead of discussing topics that are meant to be relevant to Americans across the board. Of course, we can't forget Lil Jon's surprising appearance to say TURN DOWN FOR WHAT (perhaps a call for voters to go vote in November? The world may never know!) which brought more energy to the night even if it also seemed like a strange disconnect of reality that had me wondering what sort of event was I attending.
Senator Bernie Sanders spoke as well , reminding the American people that politics, at its core, is about policy and went to list all the things that Kamala Harris should work on once she becomes president. Afterwards, we got Doug Emhoff, the husband of Kamala Harris to share a loving ode to his wife that is not just running for president, but also the sort of woman who will always make time for the people no matter what.
He was the first speaker that made the audience get to know more about her as a person, not just the politician who wants to become president. By the end of the night, former first Lady, Michelle Obama delivered a powerful and cutting speech on the dimming of the hope in the Democratic party and her call to action to fellow Americans.
"We need to be the solution we seek," Michelle Obama said in her closing remarks. Former President Barack Obama presented a speech warning for us to keep in mind what will happen if we let Trump win and how the basic rights we have will be taken away. From removing the affordable care act to our right to vote and the reproductive rights of women, these are only some of the things the Project 2025 proposal of Trump will cause for Americans in the US.
Day 3 Theme:“A Fight for Our Freedoms”
This was the most hectic day for me personally as I went from visiting the McCormick Place and then went on to the United Center, this time, being able to sit in the second floor of the venue.
In what I consider to be the best of all the nights of the DNC, we got some unforgettable guests that made me so happy and grateful to be there in attendance. We start off with a teacher from Minnesota who was granted the chance to sing the National Anthem and it was one of the better renditions of the song that I have heard recently. It's the first time in the convention where I finally feel that educators are being seen and recognized a bit more as educators have been neglected in recent years, especially during the pandemic.
This night as usual, discussed women's reproductive rights and the right of women to have control over their bodies, the event finally discussed education, gun violence reform that was comforting to hear that Kamala Harris and Vice President Tim Walz will work to make sure our public schools can be safe. We heard more about how Harris will be an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and while this felt like it could have been addressed earlier since their entire focus has been to be a candidate for the people and their rights, it was still nice to hear it mentioned on national television.
Among the memorable quotes of the night, the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel who is openly Lesbian, criticized the project 2025 plan threatening to ban same sex marriages in which she stated "you will have to remove my wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hands." and the chorus of cheers afterward made for one of the quotes that stuck with me.
We also got a few speakers discuss Infrastructure accomplishments in our country that will bridge the gap between parts of the US that need it. Immigration, at last, gets briefly mentioned by Carlos Eduardo Espina, a content creator who had the chance to speak at the DNC. We got performances from Maren Morris, Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman who shared a new poem with us, the legend Stevie Wonder who I was absolutely thrilled to be able to see live, and John Legend who delivered an amazing performance that had me happily dancing while recording it on Instagram.
The audience shared a muted reaction to Bill Clinton appearing and he delivered an amusing quote about how "the only personal vanity I want to assert is that I am still younger than Donald Trump.” There was a speech from Nancy Pelosi as well, a surprise appearance from Oprah who addressed the Independent and undecided voters to choose Kamala Harris not just because of the things she would do for this country, but because it was common sense to vote for her. As a figure of influential power, it could help sway voters to head out to the voting polls but that is yet to be seen.
In the end, we get Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Walz to give his address to the audience. As I had never heard of him before, it was essential for me to see what a former teacher who was now a VP candidate had to say. He discussed his upbringing in a small town, emphasized the importance of community and how after serving in the military, we needed to do more for our veterans, but also our educators because of the pivotal role they play in the lives of the younger generations and their upbringing.
Seeing him put education at the forefront of his speech was important for all of the educators that were either in attendance or were watching from home. This was definitely needed especially considering the teachers quitting their jobs because of bad salaries, or the fear of being possibly killed in a school shooting, or simply, the rise of banned books and the extreme changes to the educational curriculum in Republican States like Florida.
At the end of the night as I was exiting the United Center, I got to see some silent protestors outside of the venue and while the existence of the Protestors who want a ceasefire for Gaza got briefly acknowledged by Biden in his remarks on Monday, I am aware of the careful way the event danced around this topic. They brought the parents of a young man who is still a hostage in Israel and their speech, while emotional for viewers, also left a mark that made us wonder why everyone seemed to struggle to recognize the pain, death and suffering of Palestinians during this genocide. But, to be able to see protestors at last be able to enter the United Center is what made this night such a memorable one, especially considering how the DNC failed to include any Palestinian speakers which could have shown that we are actually united as a nation.
Video: Megan Gallardo, via a saved Instagram story
For a convention that focuses on family, community, the unity of a nation, this was the one mistake the convention made which excluded the right for Palestinian speakers to participate in this event that is supposed to promote our rights.
Day 4: “For Our Future”
For the last day, seats became incredibly hard to find for a venue that was supposed to have no issues in seating arrangements. Despite this being the grand finale of the convention, it was a day, that ultimately fell flat.
While I do carry an interest in politics, this particular day felt more focused on reminding us how bad Trump is and how the better alternative is Kamala Harris. With more propaganda videos creating a narrative of how Trump cannot become president, it was time that could have been better used to discuss more on Immigration since this is the sort of focus that Trump makes in his recent rallies.
The refugee crisis in the US was noticeably absent from the convention and climate change was finally addressed, although briefly. The speakers seemed to restate the things mentioned in the past three days, along with videos showcasing Maya Harris, the presidential candidate's sister who we saw in videos for all of the four days which attributed to a more muted audience. The joy felt half-hearted on this last day and I found myself bored for once in this convention. It wasn't until Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts arrived that the spirits in the crowd on the floor where I was, appeared to rise.
With a standing ovation that nearly led the senator to tears, she delivered an emotive speech building the case of Kamala Harris as a prosecutor who would follow the law and help the people over Trump as a convicted felon and a selfish man. The night took a turn when we got to hear survivors from some of the past school shootings that have rocked our nation.
This was the part of the evening that brought me to tears as we heard the testimony of a teacher who ushered her students into classroom closets while whispering a song to them so they could be comforted from their fear of the bullets striking in her classroom. Or the mother from Uvalde who took her daughter to school only to no longer be able to hug her daughter anymore since she had been killed. Or even the student that talked about how he was about to take a test and how the lesson he learned the day his school got shot was how to run for your life, and how to survive when bullets threaten to take away the chance to survive the test of being able to live another day.
As the audience heard these gutting testimonies, the urge to bring gun reforms to ensure that our public schools and our students could be safe was the most impactful part of the evening.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan spoke as well, making some comments of how Project 2025 would affect our nation. Kerry Washington also attended with former co-star from the tv show Scandal, Tony Goldwin, and there was a performance from P!nk including her daughter in a melancholic rendition of "What about Us".
We also got a surprisingly well done pitch from former Illinois Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger to the Republicans, reminding them that the Democrats also were willing to fiercely defend American values as well as following the law since the Republican party had lost its integrity and was now "corrupted". He urged Republican voters to choose Kamala Harris who would uphold the law unlike Donald Trump.
At the end of the night, Kamala Harris spoke to the nation, delivering a speech that initially focused on her upbringing, the values her mother taught her to do something about the injustices she saw. While her speech highlights her as a charismatic, confident leader who will get right down to business as soon as she becomes president, many voters have had mixed reactions to her speech. As the DNC closed, the balloons I saw for four days finally fell straight to the ground floor and never for the other floors to experience the chaos of falling balloons which was a bit disappointing.
With less than 72 days left, both candidates will race against the clock to convince more voters on what their choice should be. Overall, this was a very memorable convention that showed us the quick turn the Democratic party has taken in such few weeks and the palpable optimism that carries us into the last leg of the election.
While this convention may not have focused as much on younger voters, we are the most important ones in this election. We are the ones who have helped push for Kamala's popularity through internet memes, TikTok videos and especially now, with the extremist Project 2025 agenda, a lot remains at stake. Voting, at this point, is essential to hope for a future where many of the wrongs in the US can be changed. While all the changes we wish for will not be immediate, we need to keep in mind that we, as the young voters, have the way to push our nation forward.
For information on how to register to vote and where to head to on November 5th to cast your vote, please visit: https://www.usa.gov/voting-and-elections
If you made it to the end, then I thank you for reading until the end. Until next time :)
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