Clinton praises team's response to Imus remarks
Senator draws praise, protest during speech at Rutgers University
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

NEW BRUNSWICK - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last week used the Rutgers women's basketball team as an example of how far the country has come in overcoming discrimination as well as how far the nation still needs to go.

During a Friday speech in New Brunswick, Clinton praised the team's swift reaction to former radio host Don Imus' controversial comments. The junior senator from New York mentioned the team and its players several times as she spoke before a packed audience in the Nicholas Music Center at Rutgers.

Speaking at the invitation of the Center for Women in American Politics, she drew comparisons between coach C. Vivian Stringer and Jackie Robinson, the first man to overcome Major League Baseball's color barrier. She went on to say that discrimination of any sort has the deleterious effect of making one's life accomplishments invisible, pushed to the margins by the ignorance of others. Clinton was pleased that tolerance for discrimination has grown shorter over the years.

"We're standing up for what is right. We're saying enough is enough. ... While we should protect our freedom of expression, it should not be used as an excuse to demean and degrade our fellow citizens," said Clinton.

She accentuated her point with a story about a set of mixed doubles tennis trophies she saw when she was younger, saying that the men's trophy was a good two to three times bigger than the women's, before noting how far women's rights have come.

"But the changes did not happen overnight and they did not happen by accident," said Clinton.

Expanding her point, she began rattling off different groups that were responsible for great strides in civil rights throughout history, from abolitionists to suffragettes. The important thing, to her, was that people stand up for their beliefs and refuse to be made invisible.

However, she went on to say that there was still a lot of work left to do in changing both public policy and public perception. She said that people have a responsibility to not only make discrimination illegal but socially unacceptable. To illustrate, she said that women are still paid less on average, that minorities still face harassment every day, and that returning veterans are not receiving adequate medical treatment. She also referenced the recent Supreme Court decision that banned partial birth abortions without an allowance for the life of the mother.

"What message does it send when it's said women's health doesn't matter?" Clinton asked.

The senator said the hope lies in getting people to recognize the humanity of everyone, especially their enemies. As an example, she brought up her husband's efforts in Northern Ireland, where Catholic and Protestant factions are substituting political maneuvers for military ones. She said that replicating that success is possible, but not easy.

"They have to overcome that history of stereotypes, of degradation, of marginalization," said Clinton.

During the course of her speech, anti-war activists twice made their presence known. About a half-hour into the event, a lone man quietly rose to his feet and held up a sign imploring Clinton to keep the military out of Iran. At the close of the event, a chorus of students toward the back of the room chanted "Bring the troops home."

Suzan Sanal, a Douglas College sophomore who took part in the chant, said that she and her group, Rutgers Against the War, wanted to pressure the presidential candidates to end the Iraq War and to take war with Iran off the table entirely.

"She has never said that voting for the war was a mistake, she has fully funded the Iraq War, she has not taken war with Iran off the table, and we are trying to pressure her to end the Iraq War," Sanal said. "The war has killed over 600,000 Iraqis and it was a mistake, and mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children are dying every day."

Sanal also said that a good friend of hers will be deployed to Iraq in June and she worries that he will be one of thousands returning with lost limbs and other battle injuries.

Alicia Reaves, another sophomore currently interning at the Clinton Foundation, said that she enjoyed the speech, and Clinton really let her humanity shine through. She also liked the message the senator brought to her audience.

"She spoke to the fact that discrimination and inequality still exists. Even if it's not as blatant and institutionalized, it still needs to be combated, and I just think that's just outstanding for her to acknowledge that, since it seems a lot of politicians don't want to," Reaves said.