Former Vermont gov. speaks in Houston

Last night, students hoping to create positive social change were able to tap the mind of former Governor of Vermont Howard Dean.

Former Gov. Howard Dean offered advice to students hoping to create positive social change in an increasingly global world.

Gov. Dean — who was governor from 1991 until 2003 and later the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009 — spoke in Bodek Lounge Tuesday evening, at an event hosted by Penn Democrats. Although addressing a specific political group, Dean offered bipartisan wisdom to any and all students.

Dean said he sees the current generation as significantly more useful outside of politics than within it.

“For our generation, the way to create change was to get elected and then to use your position,” Dean said. He added that for this generation, young people are much more resourceful, utilizing the internet to enact real change in real time by going around institutions.

Dean spoke of a student from The University of Vermont who, after a trip to southern Africa, realized that US foreign aid programs were making people more, and not less dependent. This inspired her to start Spark Microgrants which provides a loan and then works with citizens of impoverished countries to develop a sustainable business strategy, as opposed to conditioning them to accept handouts.

“She had essentially come up with a more effective aid policy herself than the [multi-billion dollar] US Agency for International Development,” Dean said.

He added that the power lies with the consumer because online petitions and organized boycotts can encourage businesses to change their practices in ways that governments cannot. Dean shared that he has boycotted Exxon since it eliminated Mobile’s same-sex couple benefits after taking that company over.

Dean acknowledged that it can be discouraging when “every day you see an a****le trying to push back all the good stuff you’re trying to do.”

Still, he reminded the audience that when he was a student, schools were still segregated, and despite that a Black president was elected just 40 years later, imagine how different things will be in 40 more years given that change is only accelerating.

Students commended Dean’s abilities to bring left-wing politicians together.

“He would be a vital cog in bringing Hillary to the liberal side from the center,” Penn Dems President and College Junior Sean Foley.

Regardless of political views, Dean added that the country has made great strides to become the all-inclusive democracy it set out to be, but it’s no time to stop. Persistence in the face of overwhelming adversity will continue to generate positive social change and “the world gets better as time goes on ... as long as people keep working at it,” he said.

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