Students witness history at forum

With 17 million votes on the line, seven candidates addressed 44 million possible Hispanic viewers during Foro Presedencial Democrata-the first such national Spanish-language event-at the BankUnited Center on Sept. 9.

Organized by Univision in collaboration with the University of Miami, the candidates discussed issues important to the Hispanic community in front of an audience of 3,500. But are the concerns of Hispanic Americans different from the majority of voters?

“On a certain level, many things such as education, healthcare, employment opportunities and the war in Iraq affect all Americans-not just Hispanics,” said Susan Purcell, director of the Center for Hemispheric Policy. “Still this [was] an opportunity to focus on the increasingly important Hispanic community, and acknowledge their vote.”

Elena Smukler, president of the Federaci