Penn Democrats hosted 1984 Penn Carey Law graduate Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) at their fourth deputy board meeting of the spring semester on March 26.
Scanlon, who represents Pennsylvania’s Fifth District, spoke about recent policy developments and actions from the Trump administration and urged students to connect with their local government as a way to push back. Thirty Penn Dems members attended the event and asked Scanlon about their concerns regarding funding cuts, government internships, and immigration reform.
College first year and Penn Dems Vice President Tejas Bhatia told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the group’s goal in hosting speakers like Scanlon is to help people better understand the changes coming from Washington.
“I think mission successful because she really touched on a lot of things that students care about from issues like immigration to funding cuts,” Bhatia said. “There are things that are important, and students need to be aware of them, and we’re glad this is a space where students can learn.”
Scanlon’s talk began with a recap of the past week, both in Congress and in Pennsylvania. She discussed the SAVE Act, a Republican-led bill that would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering.
Scanlon also touched on the recent Pennsylvania state Senate election, where Democrats flipped a historically Republican seat in a district that 1968 Wharton graduate and U.S. President Donald Trump won by 15 points last fall.
“There’s a very narrow margin in the state Senate that Republicans control,” Scanlon said. “But we got one vote closer last night, so getting that little ray of sunshine had people pretty excited.”
In response to a question about education funding cuts, Scanlon emphasized the detrimental effects such cuts would have on Philadelphia schools, which she said are already underfunded. She highlighted the importance of Title I funding for public schools, citing that if it were cut, Philadelphia would lose around 5,000 teachers.
In response to these threats to education, Scanlon urged students and community members to speak out.
“We’re trying to help people understand it’s not about faceless bureaucrats in D.C.,” she said. “We’re seeing when people do speak up forcefully and contact their representatives, we’re getting some pushback and some retreat from these positions.”
For example, the club organized a phone bank after Scanlon’s talk, where members called local government officials to urge them to push back on education funding cuts as part of a Penn Dems effort to help build connections between club members and the local government.
Scanlon concluded her talk with a discussion on immigration, highlighting her efforts to protect the large Venezuelan population in her district.
“The rest of the world has figured out that we need immigrants,” Scanlon said. “I’d like to see comprehensive immigration reforms because I believe we can have safe borders and humane policy.”
Penn Dems told the DP that they plan to continue inviting elected officials to speak at their meetings in hopes of alleviating confusion and addressing emotions surrounding political changes.
“I think a lot of people don’t have a lot of hope in the government right now,” Bhatia said. “So the opportunity to ask candid, open-ended questions to elected officials lets you get out all your fears and anxieties about political and social issues.”
Scanlon last visited Penn in October 2024 for a tabling event hosted by Penn Dems, where she encouraged young voters on campus to vote for former Vice President Kamala Harris.
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