2020 Gumbo Final - Book - Page 75
Talking with Costa was followed by miles of windmilldotted farms and countryside as the group headed to
Creston for a Sen. Cory Booker event. The New Jersey
senator packed a small coffee shop, fielding questions
from the crowd, reiterating his experience and focusing
on his message of love and unity. “If America hasn’t
broken your heart, you don’t love her enough,” Booker
said. Booker ended with selfies, handshakes and even a
“Geaux Tigers.” New Year’s Day concluded with another
trip to Council Bluffs, this time for a Tom Steyer town
hall.
Day Five:
The small hotel ballroom bustled with LSU students all
morning and into the afternoon. The students heard
from David Yepsen, prominent Des Moines political
reporter, Sydney Ember, a New York Times reporter
covering the Iowa caucus and two Buttigieg organizers
for the Des Moines area. After many conversations
about the caucus and the unique way Iowans regard
the presidential race, the group drove to Ankeny to hear
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar interviewed by David
Yepsen. The interview was held in the small auditorium
of an Iowa community college, and LSU students made
up more than half of the attendees. Yepsen fired many
rounds of questions at Klobuchar about her policies and
plans for the presidency. The night ended with a group
selfie and another “Geaux Tigers.”
Day Six:
Students caravanned to a coffee shop in Perry for an
Andrew Yang town hall that evening. Snow began to
fall as students waited on the sidewalk for admittance.
Inside, the small coffee shop was filled with members of
the “Yang Gang,” curious locals and cold LSU students
The entrepreneur railed against Amazon for paying no
corporate taxes and decades of politicians for allowing
the U.S. to fall behind China in the tech race. Yang also
touted his plan for universal basic income. “We have
confused economic value with human value in this
country,” Yang said. The event ended with pictures,
signed books, a “Geaux Tigers” from Yang, and an LSU
student snowball fight back at the hotel.
Day Seven:
Compared to other days on the trip, the seventh
day was largely open. Many students used the free
time to canvas for Sen. Cory Booker, write stories for
the Manship News Service or recover from a cold.
Former Vice President Joe Biden capped off the
sleepy Saturday. The LSU group headed to McKinley
Elementary School in Des Moines, where students had
the opportunity to meet Biden. After being shuffled
into a classroom to meet the former vice president,
students waited over 90 minutes for Biden. Political
communications professor Bob Mann used the wait to
read the children’s book “Pete the Cat” to the group
Biden showed and posed for pictures with the students,
before giving a “Geaux Tigers.”
Day Eight:
The group split up on day eight to experience different
parts of Iowa. One group stayed in Des Moines and
attended a panel discussion of political scientists about
the Iowa caucus and current race. Another group
traveled to Davenport to attend a rally for Sen. Elizabeth
Warren and another Biden event.
Day Nine:
The Iowa of the Tiger trip concluded with a morning
tour of the Des Moines Register office downtown.
Students saw part of the newsroom and sat in on the
morning editorial meeting for an inside look on how the
Iowa newspaper covers the caucus every four years.
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