By Ramisha Farooq
This past Monday, Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau visited Ryerson’s Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) for a speech and hour-long meet and greet.
This is the second time this year Trudeau has made his way onto the Ryerson campus for a visit. Trudeau’s first trip was to Ryerson’s innovative Digital Media Zone.
“I’m super pleased to be back at Ryerson,” said Trudeau.
“I really love the energy level. There are students here who are really looking at changing the world.”
The event, put on in collaboration with the Ryerson and University of Toronto (UofT) Young Liberals, was organized to raise awareness and “create a more politically engaged generation of students”, according to a press release.
Tracy Leparulo, president of the Ryerson Young Liberals, said that doing a merged event with the UofT young liberals brings their group more exposure, being relatively new.
“It is amazing to see the U of T liberals, a group that has been around a very long time, help a young team like ours,” said Leparulo.
“That embodies what we as liberals and Justin stands for, hard work and hope for the future.”
A mix of cheers and applause quietly crept up to the front of the room as the liberal leader made his way to the podium.
Trudeau started off with a bang, mentioning youth interest and involvement in politics.
“Young people have such a broad view of the world and they are noticing the big problems that we’re facing,” said Trudeau.
“It’s about time we got involved.”
Trudeau went on to mention some of the highlights of his liberal platform and introduce Toronto Centre’s by-election nominee, Chrystia Freeland, all while slipping in the occasional joke about the conservative party.
There was even talk about making a Ryerson liberals hash tag.
After a question and answer period ranging in topic from immigration to marijuana and euthanasia, Trudeau finished off his visit. A flurry of fans continued to follow him down the stairs and out the doors of TRSM.
The Ryerson Young Liberals hope to put on similar events in the future.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyYxX8yOP8w[/youtube]
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