The Can Kicks Back hosted a gathering at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday trying to bring the College Republicans of the University of Utah and the College Democrats of the University of Utah together to gather ideas on how to reduce the national debt.
According to the group’s website, “The Can Kicks Back (TCKB) is a non-partisan millennial movement to defeat the national debt and reclaim our American dream. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize young Americans in order to promote a sustainable and generationally equitable federal budget.”
The group came to the U as part of its Generational Equity Tour across the U.S.
Bryce Christensen, chairman of the University of Utah College Republicans and a sophomore in political science and anthropology said he’d been planning the event since the summer.
“I coordinated with them to get this planned, got the Hinckley Institute of Politics on board, got the College Democrats on board,” Christensen said. “I’ve been excited about this event, I thought it went really well. It brought a lot of light on an issue that affects our generation.”
The event saw about 100 people from both sides of the political spectrum.
“We saw a good showing from both the Democrats and Republicans,” said Nick Troiano, field director and cofounder of The Can Kicks Back. “We did an interactive poll at the end of the session, and 50 percent said that the national debt should be our top priority and the other 50 percent said that it should be in our top-3 priorities.”
Christensen said the debt should be important to students.
“The biggest thing is that young people need to realize how much of an impact this will have on them and they need to get more involved and go out and vote,” Christensen said.
The tour started on Sept. 25 in California and will end on Oct. 30 in Washington, D.C. to formally protest against the national debt. The organization will make stops at colleges in Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.