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From left, Adam Welch, a junior majoring in political science, discusses with Rozz King, an activist, President Bush's concept of what social security should be on Monday in the Student Union Amphitheater. "I am thrilled that young people are interested i [Click to enlarge]

Americans Uniting America, a South Bay organization formed by students, and the San Jose State University Campus Democrats organized the rally to inform students about the Social Security debate.

Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and a representative from Congressman Mike Honda's office spoke at the rally hosted by Students for Social Security and South Bay Mobilization.

"It's important for students to think about how Social Security affects them today," Lofgren said.

During her speech, Lofgren aimed to dispel myths she said President George W. Bush has been saying about social security.

Lofgren said 4.4 million Californians receive Social Security benefits. She said one-third of Californians receiving Social Security are disabled, widows or children whose parents have died. She said there is a large number of college students who depend on Social Security.

"We want to raise awareness of social and economic injustice," said Alessandra Harris, founder of Americans Uniting America.

Lofgren said that to stop the privatization plan, the president needs to take out the trust funds, make sure the people currently receiving Social Security get the funding they need and help people save for retirement not at the expense of Social Security.

"When the president takes privatization off the table, then we will engage in attacking Social Security moderately," Lofgren said.

In a statement read by one of Honda's representatives, he said one of the things the president does not need to do is increase cuts. He said currently President Bush's plan shows that 70 percent of Americans will suffer benefit cuts.

"(Social Security) is what we are going to live off when we are old," said Tamara Parsons, a senior audience member majoring in communicative disorders and diseases. "It is what we need when we are injured."

Lofgren said she wants to make sure her children are free to take risks without the worry of having to support her someday.

"We don't want to have to worry about taking care of our parents," said Sarah Fields, vice president of SJSU College Democrats. "We want to live comfortably without having to sacrifice our future."

One of the messages stressed at the rally was that students needed to be aware and concerned about the issue.

"It's our parents, and us and our children who are going to be most affected by (Social Security) so if we don't send them a message, no one else will," Parsons said.

"If we destroy Social Security, then our future is going to be drastically altered," Fields said.

Harris said despite students' busy schedules, they still needed to be aware.

"There are a lot of things going on, we might be busy with finals and work, but we need to start taking an active role in deciding our fate. We are the future," she said.

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