On Thursday, February 18, 2016, Scripps College hosted the latest in its series, Scripps Presents; "Women in Politics: A Conversation with Nancy Pelosi." Tickets to the lunchtime event in Garrison Theater had sold out quickly, although various Scripps Facebook groups offered tickets as the event approached and students realized that they could not attend. Indeed, many felt that the timing of the event was inconvenient, extending from 12:15 to 1:30 in the afternoon when most students have class or need to eat lunch. While many students did attend, not every seat was filled, unexpected with such a high profile guest.

After brief comments by Interim President Amy Marcus-Newhall and a student-given introduction, Professor Vanessa Tyson and Congresswoman Pelosi sat down for a 'conversation.'

Professor Tyson began by asking the congresswoman about her experiences running and the obstacles she has faced over the years. The former Speaker began by giving very general advice to young women and girls who want to enter politics, saying that being yourself is one of the most important things as authenticity resonates with people.

After briefly speaking on how she ended up running for office, Pelosi turned to speaking on the role of women and minorities in politics saying that their involvement has a "wholesome effect." Pelosi went on to explain that the House Democratic Caucus is majority minority; women and minorities make up the bulk of its members. She then said that if the role of money in politics was reduced, more women, minorities and young people would get involved, which could only improve government. A section on 'women's issues' followed in which the House Minority leader discussed her support for the usual range of Democratic policies.

One of the most interesting things that Pelosi said concerned her position as the first Female Speaker of the House: she had thought a woman president would be elected far before a woman would be elected to the (House) leadership.

Professor Tyson then asked the congresswoman to what she attributed the push-back in Congress. Her response- nothing radical- offered the view that the two parties have differing opinions as to the role of government and the amount of governance that should happen. She did take the chance to offer a barb, saying the GOP "doesn't believe in Science, governance, or Barack Obama." This led to the next question, on which environmental policies Pelosi would enact if she had the votes to do so. Although the Minority leader was not specific in the way the question intended, she did take the chance to speak about climate change and green energy, taking another shot at the Republicans as she said, "whether you believe in science or not, it's true."

In the next query, Pelosi was asked to explain any areas of policy where Republicans and Democrats might be able to find common ground. "It's not good, but it's better than you might expect," the congresswoman said. She went on to talk about some of the successes that she had from working with President Bush on immigration and claimed that these days, obstruction isn't coming from the members, but rather from the top. While obviously one hesitates to doubt the words of someone personally involved in Congress, when you consider the House Freedom Caucus and the recent deposition of John Boehner from his post as Speaker of the House, one questions the validity of those words. It seems that former Speaker Boehner and current Speaker Ryan are interested in what Pelosi termed governance while other members are more interested in blocking anything which is not conservative enough for their tastes.

From here, the audience was allowed to ask a handful of questions. The first asked the former Speaker how she brings the "morals and values of [her] community to D.C." Pelosi spoke of how she is often attacked for having "S.F. values," her district covering the majority of the city, but that she takes it as a compliment as they have a great respect for people in San Francisco. The next question did not receive a direct answer, but few truly versed in politics expected one. While several people remarked afterward they wished she had not been so political in her response, it would have been a poor move for the House Minority Leader to honestly answer who her ideal candidate for the Supreme Court would be, even if she is not a part of the chamber in charge of confirmations. She did, however, take the opportunity to praise Justice Scalia on his championing of the constitution and remark that "the constitution says that the president shall propose a candidate... the current president."

The penultimate question was grounded in the events of the day: as students, staff and community members walking into the venue, they were greeted by chanting protesters. A group composed of mostly elderly white men and women, they held signs with the faces of those killed by illegal immigrants. Their chants and several of their signs showed the protest to be against sanctuary cities and illegal immigrants. One Scripps student ventured to call them "racist," to which they responded that she would not believe it racist if someone from her family was killed by them.

These protesters were targeting this event and Pelosi in particular- because she is from the California 12th, which covers a large part of San Francisco. San Francisco is one such Sanctuary City and the murder of Kate Steinle in 2015 brought the concept to media attention. Pelosi has defended the Sanctuary City concept in the past and did so again today when a student asked what her response to the protesters was.

The congresswoman began explaining how Sanctuary Cities came to be and said: "It started because we had a different view of who could come to this country with some protection... the idea was to give sanctuary... and was not to give any comfort to felons, or anything like that, it was about protecting families and that is what we are committed to doing," She went on to say that the unfortunate incident which occurred in San Francisco did not invalidate the idea, but spoke to the need for city, state, and federal law enforcement to increase communication.

The final question asked Pelosi to give her thoughts on the generational split that this election is showing in the Democratic party. While avoiding many of the reasons that this split is occurring, Pelosi did acknowledge that the majority of young voters are turning to Senator Sanders. However she seemed to think that it was because rather than having a list of individual policy positions, he has a simple message and ideology. Pelosi also said, "We owe a debt of gratitude to Bernie for attracting young people."

One of her more interesting comments was against the use of super-delegates. She said, "you have elections so people can speak not so the chosen can decide," which drew much applause. One student mentioned being surprised at the congresswoman's position, as one might assume that as a figure of the establishment, Pelosi would support their usage.

Pelosi also made a request that any Republicans in the audience "take back [their] party." She concluded with the remark, "I think there is a special place in heaven for everyone who votes."

Congresswoman Pelosi was given a standing ovation and then descended from the stage to take photos with students.

Commentary by students afterward seemed to focus on several themes, especially that the former Speaker had seemed too political and that she was far more religious than most expected. More than one remarked that she had seemed to cater her remarks to her audience, switching to lines more likely to appeal toward Sanders supporters as she realized her audience was not filled with supporters of Clinton.

Pelosi also often made comments along the lines of "people of faith should support Z because of X," before saying "and those who aren't religious support Z because of Y." Although the attempt to acknowledge humanist values was appreciated, it seemed odd when she would give both reasons rather than using the more general one for everyone. On areas from climate change to Sanctuary Cities, the congresswoman made a point to emphasize religion and mentioned more than once her meeting with the Pope.

Overall, the event seemed to generate a positive response from the student body.