Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine came to State College on Friday afternoon. Though he bashed Donald Trump and praised his running mate's debate performance, it was clear that Kaine knew what this crowd wanted to hear.
"I don't know if the college affordability issue is of concern to anyone at Penn State," Kaine joked as the crowd laughed — or groaned.
He laid out Hillary Clinton's plan to make post-secondary education accessible for everyone.
“College should be debt free. We should be able to make that commitment," said Kaine. "Will it have a cost? Yes, it will have a cost, but it should be debt-free because you should not have to mortgage your future in order to prepare for your future.”
He also advocated for tuition-free college for families that makes less than $125,000 a year, and helping former students get out from under student loans.
"We need to make it easier for people with debt to refinance debt," said Kaine. He said that student loan debt hurts more than just the person struggling to pay loans. It hurts the economy, he said, because people are limited in what jobs they can take and limited in how much they can spend.
Kaine stressed that the Keystone State was the key state to winning the election. He was joined by Democratic County Commissioners Mike Pipe and Mark Higgins, Democratic candidate for treasurer, Joseph Torsella and Democratic candidate for Congress, Kerith Strano Taylor.
Kaine encouraged the students to vote Democrat down the ballot — and to make sure they vote at all.
