Political rally puts Yonkers in the spotlight

The names Yonkers and Sarah Lawrence College echoed internationally on Nov. 6 when President Biden visited the college’s Yonkers campus. He was there to participate in a Democratic Party rally designed to boost the campaign of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other party candidates. Hochul was running for a full four-year term after having moved up from Lt. Gov. when Andrew Cuomo resigned. Sarah Lawrence is located in Yonkers, although it has a Bronxville mailing address.

The South Lawn and abutting areas of the 44-acre campus had been fitted with a stage, risers for news media cameras, tables for reporters, theatrical lights on aerial platforms, loudspeakers suspended from crane lifts, crowd control fences, security screening by the Secret Service, an explosives-sniffing dog and numerous other things needed for an event attended by the President of the United States.

As the college describes it, “One of the most politically active campuses in the country, Sarah Lawrence College is constantly pushing students to think about how they are impacting the world around them. Inspired by courses in public policy, economics, and history, Sarah Lawrence College students seek to promote and create positive change in our community on- and off-campus. They devote themselves to their internships at leading organizations, from the American Civil Liberties Union to Human Rights Watch.”

Sarah Lawrence’s President Cristle Collins Judd, said in welcoming remarks to the estimated 1,300 Sarah Lawrence students and members of the public at the rally, “I want to acknowledge and to give a shout-out to the many student organizations on campus committed to the work of creating a more just and a more equitable society. Democracy matters.”

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano told the crowd that Biden”™s visit to Yonkers marks the first time in almost 50 years that a president of the U.S. has been in the city. It actually was 46 years ago, on October 13, 1976, that President Gerald R. Ford visited Yonkers City Hall and signed a bill providing federal revenue sharing funds to states and localities. Before that, in October 1972, President Richard M. Nixon visited Yonkers during his reelection campaign. A crowd of about 10,000 was on hand to see him in Getty Square.

“A special thank you to the students here at Sarah Lawrence,” Spano said. “We love Sarah Lawrence here in our city.”

Spano then plunged into politics, recalling the election of 2020 that put President Biden into office.

“Thanks to people like you throughout this entire nation who rallied together we beat back Donald Trump. That allowed President Joe Biden to pass the biggest infrastructure bill that we’ve ever seen,” Spano said. “And, that allowed President Biden to pass landmark legislation that finally addresses climate change. That allowed (the) president to provide financial help for working families so we can help reduce child poverty and create so may jobs here in this community.”

Spano also credited Biden with preserving democracy in the U.S. “against those who want to destroy it.” He then proceeded to list some of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s achievements while contrasting them with positions taken by Hochul’s gubernatorial challenger, Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin.

Spano credited Hochul with passing a strong package of gun control laws, while charging that Zeldin wants to make assault weapons available to more people.

“Kathy Hochul will fight to preserve a woman’s right to choose,” Spano said. “We all know her opponent thinks the opposite.”

Spano praised Biden and Hochul for providing resources to local communities for needs such as education and building affordable housing.

“We all know what’s at stake. Two years ago, Joe Biden saved this nation from a very dark future,” Spano said.