Antonio Villaraigosa stepped to the podium on Dickson Court and was met by cheers from about 4,000 UCLA students and supporters.
“It’s great to be back at my alma mater,” the Los Angeles mayor said. “As someone who came to UCLA way, way back when, I remember when we had a governor who actually believed … in education and (in having) the best university system anywhere in the world.”
The crowd applauded as Villaraigosa paused, placing his hands on either side of the podium. “That governor’s name was Jerry Brown.”
Brown, the Democratic candidate for California governor, came to UCLA on Friday night alongside former President Bill Clinton and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Gavin Newsom. The campus was one stop on the Democrats’ campaign to draw support before the Nov. 2 midterm election.
After being introduced by Villaragoisa, Newsom and Brown talked for about 10 minutes each. Clinton concluded the rally with a 20-minute speech that drew the largest response from the crowd.
The Democrats did not hesitate to criticize their opponents, comparing the Republicans to ditch-diggers, train wreckers and a losing football team.
“The Republicans got a chance to put their ideas into effect … so what did they do,” Clinton asked. “They fought two wars … spent money like crazy, and doubled the debt of the country before the financial meltdown.”
The former president spoke with calm, practiced confidence. Economic inequality, he said, is at the root of the nation’s problems. Addressing students specifically, he added that lack of support for education has too long been a barrier for children who come from low-income families.
Education policy was a central topic for all three politicians, and each emphasized the importance of making college more affordable and accessible to young adults in California.
“We all know what the challenges are, and any one you that had to pay tuition last year know it very well,” said Newsom, who has been mayor of San Francisco since 2004.
Brown stressed the state’s responsibility to make public higher education available to California students of any background and said private wealth should contribute more to this goal.
“(We need to) get every kid in this school that can qualify,” Brown said. “Everyone. Whether they’re documented or not.”
The statement drew one of the loudest cheers of the night.
Brown, who previously served two terms as governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and is the current state attorney general, also pledged fiscal responsibility, an end to tax breaks for the wealthy, and support for gay marriage.
Poking fun at his own status as an elder politician, Brown said when he was first elected governor, he had a lot more hair on his head.
“But don’t worry,” he quipped. “Every time I lose a hair, I get more brains.”
Police said they encountered only four or five protesters at the rally. But of all who attended, not everyone was impressed by the politicians’ rhetoric.
“I try not to just vote (for Democrats),” said Eli Kirshbaum, a first-year art and mathematics student who said the rally probably would not influence his decision come election day. “It undermines the democratic process if you just vote along party lines.”
Chris Arntsen, a graduate student in chemistry, said he’ll vote for Brown only because he believes the Republican candidate, Meg Whitman, is trying to buy her way into office. Whitman has spent more than $140 million of her own money on the gubernatorial campaign, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Still, most students who attended said they were glad to have gone, and some said they would base their votes on what the candidates had to say.
“I just came to see Bill Clinton,” said Mary Elserogy, a fourth-year history and film student. “I didn’t know anything about (the candidates) “¦ now I’m going to vote for them because of what they talked about.”
Naveen Reddy, a first-year neuroscience student, said he attended the event to be a part of the atmosphere of a political movement.
Following the rally, Clinton walked into the crowd to greet students and shake hands for about 20 minutes. Cell phone cameras flashed furiously as a section of the audience clustered in a circle around the president, vying for a chance to reach out to him.
The other politicians made rounds as well, and eventually all three returned to their motorcade to drive off.
Students filed out of the courtyard. The hum of excited conversation died slowly down until Dickson Court was left in peaceful silence, dark except for the still-illuminated podium with the state and national flags displayed prominently behind it.
With reports by Sonali Kohli, Melissa Mainini, Michelle Nosratian and Neil Paik, Bruin senior staff.