SC State University students bask in international spotlight during VP Harris visit to campus

ORANGEBURG, S.C. – As a broadcast communications major, Amauri Allen aspires to rub elbows with news crews from major networks and media from around the world.

And on Friday, the South Carolina State University senior did just that while still in school, as Vice President Kamala Harris’ stop on campus brought reporters and photographers from such places as Korea, Norway, Switzerland, South Africa, Germany and the United Kingdom.

"It’s a lot. I’m happy and very proud to add this onto my resume,” said Allen, who was reporting on the team for the SC State Communications Program’s “Bulldog News Now” video news webcast. “This is my second time working with Kamala Harris as a member of the press.”

Harris brought her campaign rally to the SC State Fine Arts Building on Friday ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary.

She also had visited the campus in September 2022 to address students at the Fall Convocation, and Allen was in that press corps, as well. Such opportunities for that level of experience might not have been available had he attended a different university.

“That’s very important to me,” he said. “SC State is a family legacy for me, so this means a lot to have this here on campus.”

With his graduation from SC State on the horizon in May, sharing the media riser with national and international correspondents presented Allen with incredible networking opportunities.

“While I was up there, I made sure I was making connections with these journalists so they could give me tips on what to do and what not to do when I make it into that field,” he said. “Some of them were asking which network I am from – they didn’t even know I was a student journalist at first.”

South Carolina’s presidential primary put the spotlight on SC State students even before the vice president arrived, as news crews from NBC Nightly News, NBC Digital, Spectrum TV, the Associated Press and Aljazeera English sought the young voters’ perspectives in the days and weeks leading up to the primary.
This year’s election represents the first time Winston James, a 20-year-old SC State sophomore from Augusta, Georgia, can vote in a presidential election.

“I just don’t want my vote to be wasted. I want it to go in the right place for the right reason,” James said. “Anything that is for overall safety in this life in general, that’s my main concern, and that’s where my vote will go. Whoever promises what will be the most safety for me, that’s who I will vote for.”
 
The weight of Harris’ visit to SC State was not lost on him.

“I think it’s important to have this exposure to our campus, because not only does this bring opportunities to the school, but it also shows that our vote does matter to society,” James said. “Having Kamala Harris here says that she looks toward us, she sees us and she needs us.”

Before Harris spoke to the crowd, many news cameras were focused on the SC State Marching 101 Drum Line, who wowed everyone there with a thundering performance.

“It makes me feel very important, and it makes me feel better my peers and I are actually getting the opportunity to be here with the vice president,” said drummer LeeLee Wiggins, a junior business management major from Charleston, South Carolina. “Knowing that we are the face of the university is a great opportunity for everybody to be seen.

“I think that’s important because when we have the band out here, seeing the band can bring more people to the university, and that will make the university a better place for students to learn,” Wiggins said. “It highlights the extracurricular activities.”