Courtesy of Bowie State University
Congressman Steny Hoyer, the House Majority Leader, visited Bowie State last week at the Entrepreneurship Living and Learning Community (ELLC) to articulate his unwavering support for BSU and hear from students about major issues impacting the nation.
The ELLC is a real-world innovation hub that encourages creative collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking. Before meeting with students, Congressman Hoyer toured the ELLC visiting makerspaces where students have the opportunity to develop their business aspirations and explore their ideas for new inventions in specialized spaces infused with the latest technology.
“Bowie State has become one of the great universities in the country. The quality of your faculty and students makes the university,” said Hoyer. He also voiced concern about increasing threats to HBCUs. “After the bomb threats, I said we have to make HBCUs safe again. We have to sell people on the fact that violence is not the answer,” he said.
Hoyer noted that the United States is one of the most violent nations in the world with more guns than people. Among developed nations, no others have as many violent deaths due to guns as the United States. The Congressman’s remarks on gun violence followed a rash of car jackings and other violent crimes in Prince George’s County in recent weeks.
“The police are not the problem when it comes to gun violence,” said senior Zion Tyler. “It is the people. We must educate ourselves and the people who live in our communities. There is so much division and hate in our nation which leads to crime and violence and it’s impacting everyone regardless of race, class, or color.”
Hoyer punctuated the need for everyone to vote and urged the students to not be silent on issues that are important to them. “Congress is divided because people are divided,” he said. We’re in a dangerous place right now and none of us can be silent on things that challenge the soul of America. You have to speak out, speak up, and vote.”
That message resonated with Zarielle Simms, a freshman psychology major. “Voting is important because it allows us to make changes and hopefully improve things for people. I definitely believe that my vote matters and that to be a part of change, you have to believe and you have to vote,” she said. “I agree with Congressman Hoyer. I know our nation is divided and I believe it is due to the increase in people saying and doing racist acts.”
Mental health is another major concern of Congressman Hoyer. He told the students that the COVID pandemic put the nation behind on combating the issue and that more needs to be done. “We need more programs that address the mental health crisis that we’re experiencing and it’s getting worse,” he said. “Billions of dollars are needed for local communities to address this problem. Mental health should be dealt with the same way we handle physical health.”
The Congressman called attention to the January 6 incident as treason. “What happened on that day is the result of too much hate, bigotry, and division in America,” he said. “We’ve all got to work together to make sure that it is not acceptable behavior and never happens again. Again, you must speak up, speak out, and vote.”
