Dartmouth Weighs in on State Senate Contest Between Two Alums

This year's Senate contest in New York contains no less than two alums of Dartmouth College: Kirsten Gillibrand, class of '88; and Wendy Long, class of '82. The college's main campus newspaper, The Dartmouth, recently published an article highlighting that fact, and also asked several students to weigh in with some armchair political analysis. One Republican student said he would support Gillibrand over Long, citing the Manhattan lawyer's conservative stance on social issues. Republicans are not whole-heartedly supporting Long over Gillibrand, according to students interviewed by The Dartmouth. "I would probably support Gillibrand," Megan Hassett '15, a Republican from New York, said. "She's done a good job representing her constituents." Hassett said that she would not support Long because she feels Long will focus too much on socially conservative issues, such as limiting access to abortion and birth control, rather than on economic issues like job creation. "Long kind of scares me," she said. "I definitely appreciate her values, but what we need right now is not what she's offering. I want to be able to go back to New York after I graduate and get a job - that's what matters, not access to birth control." Another student said that Long could end up being a formidable opponent, given her professional background as an advocate and political staffer. "Wendy Long is formidable in the sense that she's good on her feet, can debate well and can push buttons that other people can't," he said. "She comes out of the advocacy world, so she knows how to play that game." One commenter criticized the article for being too slanted toward Gillibrand. "Could anyone read this and think it is a fair presentation of the two candidates? Anyone? This is as close to an outright attack on Wendy Long as could have been written. If the writers can't produce a decent column, could the editors please give them a little help?" While at Dartmouth, Gillibrand was an active member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma and the honors society Phi Beta Kappa, graduating magna cum laude. Long was a staff member of the Dartmouth Review, a conservative student-run newspaper that regularly courted controversy. To read more visit City and State at www.cityandstateny.com.