Democratic attorney general candidate discusses education and sexual assault prevention

Josh Shapiro is the Democratic nominee for Attorney General in the state of Pennsylvania. He currently serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and Chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. Prior to holding these positions, he served for seven years as a state representative.

This week, Shapiro met with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss his platform.

Daily Pennsylvanian: How did you get your start in public service?

Josh Shapiro: When I was a freshman at the University of Rochester, three things happened to me on the same exact day: I was cut from the men’s basketball team, I nearly flunked out of pre-med and a friend knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to run for student government. I ran and won.

Within a couple weeks of winning, the administration of the college cut all of the club sports programming. I rallied against it, we staged a sit-in, and ultimately, we were successful in compelling the administration to restore funding. That really was my first experience with political organizing, and we were successful.

At the end of my freshman year, I ran for student body president and became the first freshman in school history ever elected to that position.

DP: What has been the greatest challenge that you have faced in public office?

JS: I think that, too often, government is set up to do very little. What has frustrated me over time is combating that sense of inertia that often grips government. There are oftentimes people in government who like the status quo. I’ve never liked the status quo; I like to make change, bring about real reform and deliver real results.

DP: Would you say that a large factor in that inertia is partisan gridlock?

JS: Some of it is partisan gridlock, but some of it is the quality of people that are choosing public service. Special interests really dominate the discussions, in Harrisburg and in Washington. A lot of times, people like my opponent [State Sen. John Rafferty (R)] follow what the special interests say instead of what the people say.

DP: According to your campaign website, you plan to take “legal action to compel the legislature to meet its constitutional obligation to provide a 'thorough and efficient education' for all Pennsylvania students.” What kind of legal action would that entail, and what do you feel are the flaws with the current education system in Pennsylvania? What would a better one look like?

JS: You have a constitutional right in Pennsylvania under our state constitution, to a “thorough and efficient education.” Too many students in certain zip codes in Pennsylvania, are walking into schools each and every day where they cannot get a thorough and efficient education. It is my job to protect the people’s rights under the constitution, and I take education very seriously.

There is a direct correlation between a poor education, and people who end up in our prisons. I think there is no excuse for the fact that we are one of four states that spend more on prisons than we do on higher education.

In terms of what I will do, the answer I have to give you, quite candidly, is it depends. Currently, there is a lawsuit [William Penn School District vs. Pennsylvania Dept. of Education] pending in the state Supreme Court. I have said that I would join the plaintiffs in this case, if it is still pending when I’m Attorney General. Should that case be dismissed or something occur with that case where it’s no longer right then I would explore other legal options.

DP: On the topic of sexual assault on college campuses, can you describe in detail, what you envision for the “memorandum of understanding” that you describe in your platform?

JS: We need to make sure that the culture of consent is rooted in college campuses, and that those who are the survivors of sexual assault have an environment where they feel comfortable speaking out and getting the services that they need.

Currently, Pennsylvania has a massive backlog right now on rape kits that have gone untested — about 1,800 I believe is the figure. As Attorney General, I want to get that back log done. I want to make sure that if someone has a rape kit, that the rape kit is immediately reviewed and acted upon.

We also need to make sure that college administrators understand that they have a responsibility to report to the authorities when sexual assault or rape occurs on campus. By and large, institutions like Penn understand this responsibility, but if I find that schools are covering it up, I’m going to hold them accountable. 

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