>> washington journal. join the conversation wednesday morning on c-span, c-span now >> >>, or c-span.org. earlier today, president biden spoke at a holocaust remembrance ceremony, at the u.s. capitol in washington, d.c. watch his remarks tonight at 9:00 p.m. on c-span, c-span now,

or c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including wow. >> the world has changed. today the fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without so we are there for our customers with value, speed, reliability, choice. now more than er, it starts with great internet. wow. >> wow supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. host: we are joined by the national director of communications for the college democrats of america, sohali vaddula. welcome to the program. tell us about the college democrats of america. guest: the college democrats of

america are the official arm of the democratic party. we hold two seats on the d&c and we have three levels of structure. our executive board consists of 11 members, currently 10. our board is responsible for carrying out the decisions of the organization, representing the organization to the party, and we have federations that represent members at the state level to the national council which is our legislative body for the organization that helps make decisions along with caucuses that identify -- that represent identity groups like jewish groups, the lgbt, women, and more. we have campus chapters at many college campuses that help organize and elect democrats. host: your affiliated with the democratic national committee? guest: yes we are. our president and vice president whole two seats. host: what interaction do you have with the biden campaign?

guest: the biden harris branch has a student's branch of the campaign and we work closely with them to help and ultimately elect democrats. host: and your funding, where does that come from? guest: we are largely funded by donations. we do not get a ton of funding from the dnc. for the most part funded by donations. host: can you talk about your personal background? guest: that is a great question. when i was a sophomore i was heavily involved in high school with speech and debate and that sparked my interest in politics. that is how i got involved in the high school democrats of america. then once i graduated high school and new i wanted to stay in being a voice of youth for the democratic party and now i'm here at the college democrats as acute occasions director and i was also the communications director for the high school democrats of america until last

fall. host: your currently a freshman at nyu studying public policy. what do you hope to do? guest: i know i want to go to law school after graduating. currently i work as a congressional intern. i'm trying to get a glimpse of all the different aspects of the local landscape and get as much experience as i can before i decide what i want to dive straight into. host: we will take your calls for our guest, sohali vaddula. the lines are by party. (202) 748-8000. republicans (202) 748-8001. independents (202) 748-8002. we also have our line set aside for students and administrators. that is (202) 748-8003. use that same line to text us. let's talk about what college students are thinking about and what their main issues are going

to be this election season. guest: they rising issue that is important is the conflict in the middle east. aside from that, reproductive rights, climate change, and gun control are important issues. reproductive rights affects people of my age and older people as well. aside from that we have seen school shootings at college campuses and high school campuses and spoke to buses in general, that affects young people the most. -- and school campuses in general. that affects young people the most. and climate change and global warming, the way this is playing out with storms and heat waves. it is important we take care of our planet and that is important to us. host: how are college students feeling about the biden administration and if president biden has been addressing their concerns? guest: a lot of us see the biden

administration is not doing the best job of representing youth voices. the biden administration has also done the most for young people when it comes to student debt cancellation and pushing the inflation reduction act, which has the biggest piece of climate change legislation in history. that is a huge win for gen z and young people. vice president harris is going on a reproductive freedom torah college campuses and that has been very influential -- reproductive freedom tour on college campuses and that has been influential. it is important we use our voice to speak out and voice our concerns. host: we spent the first hour talking about viewers reaction to the protests on campus and how administrators, college leadership has been addressing those protests. what are your thoughts? guest: i think the administration or its -- i think the administrators are doing the

best they can with the situation they have and it is a complex and nuanced issue. my personal take is they need to do more to support students peacefully protesting. for the most part the protests are peaceful and it is important to keep that in mind. after talking to many students on the ground protesting at columbia, at nyu, i have understood many of the protests are peaceful and the minority of protesters that are using violence are overshadowing the larger message of the movement. it is important we do not contribute to that. host: this idea of the antisemitism on college campuses and jewish students not feeling safe or feeling targeted or attacked? your thoughts on that. guest: antisemitism is completely unacceptable and we will stand against it and condemn all forms of hate. in the statement we released we made sure to emphasize we stand

against any form of hate in any shape or form including but not limited to antisemitism. host: i wanted to read the statement you put out. the statement says college democrats are committed to the reelection of president biden and democrats in every corner of our nation. as representatives of youth across the country we reserve the right to criticize our own party when it fails to represent youth voices. as young voters we are well aware that in november our votes will determine who wins the white house. the white house has taken the mistaken route of a bear hug strategy for benjamin netanyahu and a cold shoulder strategy for its own base and all americans who want to see an end to this war. your comments? guest: i am glad you brought that up. a lot of young people are finding themselves disillusioned within the party because it no

longer represents them. i'm not saying the party has to be perfect or we will be 100% on page with everything elected officials do, but if we are endorsing a candidate like president biden, the least we can ask in return is he represents us and we'll listen to the voices of the youth that are standing behind him and are willing to knock on doors and register voters and talk to their peers to turn out for him. it is important to consider that, that young people's voices are not to be taken for granted and what could be the margin for victory for president biden in his reelection bid. we hope we can do our part. host: let's hear from president biden talking about columbia university. >> there should be no place in any campus in any place in america for anti-semitism or threats of violence against jewish students. there is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind

whether it is antisemitism, islamophobia, discrimination against arab-americans or palestinian americans. there is no place for racism in america. it is all wrong. it is un-american. i understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. in america we respect and protect the right for them to express that. it does not mean anything goes. it needs to be done without violence, without disruption, without hate, and within the law. make no mistake. as president i will always defend free speech and i will always be just as strong standing up for the rule of law. that is my responsibility to you and my obligation to the constitution. thank you very much. >> have the protests forced you to reconsider any of your policies with regards to the region? >> no. >> do you think the national

guard should intervene? >> no. host: i want to ask you about that question he got, which was have any of the protests caused you to rethink your policies towards israel and he said no. what do you think? (202) 748-8003 i think -- guest: i think that comment disappointed many people that were watching in organization and out, including myself. it shows we are feeling unheard by the democratic party and it is important we feel so. i urge president biden to listen to us because i think it will help elect oriole -- i think it will help him elect really and it is the right thing to do. host: he was also asked about the national guard on campuses. speaker johnson has said in some cases there is an appropriate role for that. what do you think? guest: in cases of violence,

which is in the minority of protesters, i think it should be addressed appropriately. i'm not sure the national guard is the best way to do so. in many cases those incidences we have seen across college campuses, many of the reasons where law enforcement is getting involved has aggravated the situation and led to more violence than the actual protests consist of. it is important to see the fine line in what is necessary and what is unnecessary involving law enforcement. host: let's take calls. illinois. independent line. caller: i would like to know how you feel about biden not answering questions for the democratic people and republicans who are asking questions about what choices to make about supporting israel?

host: so what is your question? caller: how do you feel when biden turns away as a democrat -- you say you want to raise funds for democrats. they are not listening to you. they are not listening to republicans either. host: got it. guest: i think there are broad spectrum of democrats and our people wanting different things for the party and there is room for everyone in the party and there should be a seat at the table for these other voices. president biden is juggling many different topics, both within the party interest and national security. it is a complex issue. host: north carolina, democrat, good morning. caller: i am calling her to let

her know how proud i am of her. very proud. i am a 75-year-old widow. when i was in school, i was 18 years old, i could not vote but i got to be a voter at 18. i was so thankful. when i could vote i voted and never missed a vote. i am letting her know how proud i am of her. in another case, the president is doing the best job he can do. all we have to do is pray. everything will fall into place. everything. host: always good to get some encouragement. let's talk to jamie in garden city, missouri. republican. caller: good morning.

you're such a pretty girl and you are very smart. i am glad to see our young people on this venue. i have some points i would like you to try to defend in the democratic party. first of all we have late-term abortions where it is just disgusting. in abortion less than 1% or for rape or incest or to save the mother's life. secondly we have open borders which is leading to fentanyl poisoning and chinese nationalists doing harm to american citizens. i don't know how anybody can defend that. thirdly, we sent $139 billion, that debt goes onto to my children and my grandchildren and that is alarming to make.

on the trans, i think kids should not be sexualized until they are an adult. if they want to have a surgery they need to pay for it. i want men to keep themselves out of my granddaughters locker rooms and out of their bathrooms. it is not a good thing. could you defend those for me? guest: the first point you brought up his great thing to talk about because it is a really important issue. reproductive rights is a defining issue. as for late-term abortions i say most people are not pushing for late-term abortions. they are pushing for abortions that are not capped at six weeks or 15 weeks. most people agree that after viability we are not open to the idea of abortion. that is what many of us are pushing for. as for the second point about --

host: the second point was open borders. guest: many young people can agree the border is a crisis. the college democrats have released a statement that defendant -- that put their support behind the bipartisan immigration reform bill that failed to pass. the border is line for many democrats and republicans and it is something we need to work together in a bipartisan way to approach. the last point about the national debt, i think it is an important issue. it affects my generation so i understand what you might be feeling. it is something we need to work together. it also requires a bipartisan approach. at the end of the day the economy and how it affects us whether through taxes or welfare policy, it does affect us. lastly, i believe everybody should be treated equally regardless of their gender identity and sexual orientation. that is what the college

democrs stand for. host: there is a text from angela in maryland saying have you heard the rumor thomas and alito will retire if the -- if trump becomes president. why does that not concern the youth? guest: it does concern the youth. the courts have a lot of power that politicians do not have. especially with reproductive rights, that is a concern for many of us. it is not talked about because there's so much else going on that that that is something we have control over, whereas we are able to elect our legislators but not the supreme court judges. host: let's talk to alex in washington, d.c. a democrat. caller: i had a question of following up on the israel-palestine question where i had some concerns about whether president biden is listening to the youth vote.

on the issue of climate change i saw document that was from republicans, it was from the hunter biden laptop and it showed u.s. lng and oil fields carved up in the names were written in chinese it was for a chinese company. it look like what the bidens were doing was planning to sell off a lot of u.s. natural gas to china. you get the feeling the bidens are not so sincere about climate change given what they were doing when they're out of office? guest: i think president biden does consider climate change to be a priority and we can see that through the bills he helped champion and the inflation reduction act and the infrastructure bill which can put a lot of jobs through the clean energy sector which has been the most monumental piece of climate change legislation. that is important to keep in mind. i think president biden can only speak for his own actions and not those of hunter biden and that is not convoluted the

message he and democrats are trying to push in terms of climate change. host: in michigan, republican line, mike, good morning. caller: i want to ask her if she is an american why are we allowing them to fly another country's flag at our universities? your talk -- host: you are talking about the palestinian flag? caller: any flag besides the american flag. guest: one of the best things about being an american is we are not just americans. we come with many different backgrounds and ethnicities. it is important we have diversity represented and i do not see any issue with flying the palestinian flag at college campuses. it shows people are in solidarity with what they stand for, and many college students are standing with the issue and behind palestine for what they

believe in. that is a cornerstone of our democracy and our diversity as a nation host:. -- our diversity as a nation. host: david in memphis, tennessee. caller: i'm just wondering, don't you think it would be appropriate to have a jewish student on there to talk about how they feel about these protests come about people chanting from the river to the sea? host: what you think about that phrase, from the river to the sea, palestine will be free. that incorporates the land of israel right now. guest: free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy. student should be able to stand in solidarity and voice their concerns and stand up or what they believe in as long as they do so without any hate speech of any sort. host: people are calling that hate speech, from the river to the sea. what are your thoughts on that?

does that cross a line in your opinion? guest: i think there is line between being anti-semitic and saying palestine deserves its own territory and there should be a two state solution. i think they are different things. i do not think saying palestine should be free and have its own sovereign nation is the same thing as being anti-semitic. do not see it as hate speech. host: let's talk to russ in white plains, new york. good morning. caller: i think from the river to the seat means freedom for everyone who lives there. it is dangerous to conflate anti-semitism with anti-israeli government policy. i want to know what your opinion is about increased migration and its effect on low income workers because democrats to support workers. are you going to be going to the convention in chicago? what can biden do to avoid

conflict? should he announce no more arm sales? guest: the border is a concern for democrats and young people in the party. like i mentioned before, the bipartisan immigration reform bill is a great place to start because not only doesn't ensure protections for migrants crossing the border with dignity, but it also ensures we can control the overflow of migrants at the border. as for the convention, i think that -- i am undecided whether i will be attending. i think president biden needs to put an emphasis on reaching out to young people at the convention and doing his best to make sure people in the party are heard. host: he mentioned announcing it no more arm sales to israel. is that something your organization supports? guest: many people in our organization would support conditional military aid to israel. as far as the particular wording of that we do not have a stance at the moment. host: kathy is in michigan.

republican. caller: i would like to know if she is aware that we had 4 -- we had four years of democrat russia hoax and how anyone can be a democrat after the democrats had the russia hoax. they spent millions of dollars on president trump, trying to get him, when all of that was fake. how could anyone be a democrat nowadays when they know they are so corrupt, they can make up a hoax for the whole presidency of a man. it is incredible to me. no one was held accountable. i would like to say about your set, those look like blinds instead of a map on your rug. anyway, thanks. host: a lot of people do not like that rug. getting back to what she

mentioned. guest: i think democrats have different views on this issue and it is ok because our party is very diverse. i think those people should be held accountable. i think there are more important issues we need to focus on going forward into 2024. host: steve in wisconsin. democrat. caller: i have a question for the young lady. the question is, when i look upon the protesters, i see a lot of young adults that are not participating in gainful employment to help with their tuition costs and pay their own way. that is my question. why so many people not working, but they have time to protest? i will listen for my answer now. thank you. guest: i think many of these college students that are protesting are protesting because they are standing up for what they believe in.

they condemn the military actions of the united states and foreign policy. i think that speaks for itself. if students are taking the time to protest it shows they care about the big issue. this is not the first time we've seen protest that college campus. this is been a trend from the vietnam war took black lives matter and many instances. it is time we listen to these protesters. host: all right. sohali vaddula is a freshman at new york university >> tonight on c-span, president biden and members meet for gathering on capitol hill. >> from washington, d.c. to across the country, coming up wednesday morning, we talk about campus unrest, the israel-hamas conflicts, and congressional issues of the day with

congressman john rutherford, a member of the appropriations committee, and the defense department's robert stewart in tracking u.s. military aid to ukraine. we will also discuss u.s.-saudi relations with a spokesperson for the embassy of saudi arabia in washington, d.c. c-span's washington journal, join the conversation on c-span, c-span now, or online at c-span.org. >> tonight on c-span, president biden and members of congress marking holocaust remembrance day with the ceremony on capitol hi. after that, the head of the dea testifying on efforts to bring fentanyl traffickers to justi while outlining president biden's 2025 budgeteqst for the agency. then the house debating a bill that wouldrevent the energy depame from imposing new efficiency standards on home appliances.

later, house speerike johnson talking about his meeting with republican members attempting to remove him as house speaker. that is all coming up tonight on c-span. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> are you thinking this is just a community center? no, it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1000 community centers, so students from low income families can get the tools they need to be readyor anything. >> comcast sports c-span as a public service along with these other public television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> president biden joined lawmakers and holocaust survivors at the u.s. remember the holocaust and expressed support for the jewish community. he said there's no place on campus or place