Q: Back to last Wednesday’s debate, what did you think about the topics and the absence of women’s issues in the discussion?
ET: I think — they completely forgot to talk about the other half of the country.
EA: As long as the economy is discussed, I think women and equal pay needs to be discussed too. We still make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes. I think Obama could make more of a case about the Lilly Ledbetter Act.
Q: I understand you all got an award recently by the League of Women’s Voters. What was it called?
[All together]: The young activist award.
Q: The League of Women’s Voters used to sponsor the presidential debates. What was that like for you?
SS: It was really good to be there, I mean they started it all. It’s nice to see that they’re happy and supportive of us.
Q: What has been the most exciting part of this experience so far?
ET: The media experience has been incredible. But the best part was seeing our petition online growing and growing.
EA: Just the day that we found out there would really be a woman moderator — that was exciting! Whether or not we were responsible for that, it shows that the American people were starting to notice.
SS: I was shown how powerful political activism is. The day we went to D.C. to deliver the petition to the presidential debate committee we had reporters all around us, and a press conference.
Q: So, what’s next?
ET: I mean, women still have a long way to go. And this year there are no African American moderators in the debates, both presidential and vice presidential. That’s an issue that needs attention. And women in workplace equality, women are still not getting paid enough in comparison to men. There’s a lot to do[laughs]. It may be us, I don’t know, hopefully someone will.
Q: And what’s been the reaction at school since all of this?
SS: We got a standing ovation when we got back to school. People have been amazingly supportive of us.
