In an effort to galvanize young voters, presumed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is pushing a plan that would give free rides to public university students who perform two years of community service.

To promote his plan, Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.) embarked on a series of campus visits, which began Monday with a visit to the University of New Hampshire. “The Change Starts with U” tour will also include visits to the University of Rhode Island, City College of New York and the University of Pittsburgh.

“I … want to provide an ability for people … to serve their community locally,” said Kerry Tuesday afternoon in a conference call with college newspaper reporters from around the country. “In exchange for two years of local service we want to pay for their four-year college public institution education.”

Last month, Kerry held a rally in Kogan Plaza where he outlined his campaign platform and received the endorsement of former presidential hopeful Howard Dean. Kerry discussed the creation of more jobs, universal healthcare and the environment.

On Tuesday, Kerry blamed a nationwide rise in college tuition on President Bush’s economic policies and said he would fund his tuition initiative by rolling back recently implemented tax cuts.

The Hatchet took part in Tuesday’s conference call with Kerry, who spoke about his vision for the future of higher education and fielded several questions from reporters.

Kerry: I just wanted to have a chance to talk with you about an issue that you folks all are living with and know well and struggle with and that’s college affordability. Over the last three years, college tuitions have increased about 28 percent and that’s even after you take inflation into account.

And, as everyone knows, the (Bush) administration has made its own fundamental choice, which has been to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and in the process cut the assistance that goes to states, cut the student loans, Pell Grants, the Perkins loans, so forth.

So in effect, George Bush’s tax cut for the wealthy is a tuition tax increase for students and I think it’s unconscionable.

There’s a direct choice in this race, and it’s a choice between common sense and a failed economic policy that’s seen us lose three million jobs, which is the greatest job loss in the history of the country since Herbert Hoover was president.

So it’s a pretty stark choice, and we want students to begin to recognize their power in helping to decide the outcome of this election and have an impact on their own lives.

Question: Social Security funds are kind of on the road toward bankruptcy and they’re probably going to be depleted in the next couple of decades … What is your plan to save Social Security?

K: I will guarantee that Social Security will be there through this century, in your generation and the next, and there are a lot of different scare tactics going on with Social Security … I do not intend to privatize Social Security the way George Bush wants to try to do it. If we roll back the tax cut and begin to be responsible fiscally, Social Security will be just fine.

Q: How are you intending to keep voters, especially the collegiate voter, engaged until November?

K: Well that’s why I’m doing a campus tour now and starting to talk to people on the campuses, because young people … have this enormous power, and they really have to understand it and embrace it and go out and use it. During the 1960s and ’70s it was mostly young people who drove the civil rights movement, drove the environment movement, drove the peace movement, drove the women’s movement, and we need to make some of the issues that matter to people voting issues again. If young people will go out and help organize, and organize other young people and do some of the political work necessary in America, we can win back a Congress that will change the priorities … I think young people have to re-emerge as a political force in America and what I’m going to do is keep talking common sense and truth.

Q: What are some other policy areas, besides college affordability, which you think have been attracting college students to your campaign?

K: Healthcare. I have a healthcare plan for all Americans that’s going to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to people. I’m also going to create jobs for people when they get out of college, and they want a high-paying piece of job, and we’re going to grow 10 million new jobs over the course of the next four years … We’re going to push the technology curve of discovery for alternative and renewable energy, and we’re going to start down the road to energy independence. And that will create some 500,000 jobs in and of itself. So I think there are environmental responsibilities, personal community responsibilities and economic responsibilities that a lot of people graduating from college will feel good about.