Sen. Murray’s speech this morning sounded awfully familiar
When I read a copy of the speech about student loans given before the Senate this morning by Congresswoman Patty Murray, I was hit by a feeling of déjà vu.
It appears the senator’s speech writer(s) had lifted several sentences from a recent article I wrote and pasted them right into her speech.
I was flattered that my work had been read aloud before Congress – but where’s the love? Murray failed to give a shout out to The Columbian, Clark County’s No. 1 source for news (in my humble opinion).
See for yourself. You can watch video of her speaking before the Senate by clicking this link. And here’s the part of Murray’s speech in question, pulled from the written version of the speech that I received in an email from her office (in italics):
Students like Dora Hernandez, a first-generation college student at Washington State University in Vancouver.
Dora became a mother at the age of 18, two months after graduating from high school.
She worked two to three jobs at a time to support herself and her child.
It was at one of those jobs — working the concession stand on a college campus — that inspired her to improve her life by earning a post-secondary degree.
She received some financial aid, but she will still have $29,000 in student loans to pay back once she graduates this month, and she has no job lined up.
“I was flabbergasted to find out how much student loan debt I’ve accrued,” she told me.
“Honestly, I’m scared. I hope Congress finds a way to keep interest rates on student loans down for students like myself,” she said.
And then there was Diane Robinson, a 24-year-old single mother who told me she decided to enroll at Clark College after a divorce left her with nothing.
“I would not be here without the loans,” Diane said. “It would just be impossible.”
Through her tears, Diane told me she was raised to repay her debts and worries about her looming student loan payments every single day.
And here are the similar sentences from my story on Murray’s visit last week to Clark College to discuss the potential doubling of some student loan interest rates (also in italics):
Dora Hernandez of WSUV told Murray that she is a first-generation college student. She became a mother at the age of 18, two months after graduating from high school. She worked two to three jobs at a time to support herself and her child.
It was at one of those jobs — working the concession stand at a college event — that inspired Hernandez to improve her life by earning a post-secondary degree. She received some financial aid, but she will still have $29,000 in student loans to pay back once she graduates this month, and she has no job lined up.
“I was flabbergasted to find out how much student loan debt I’ve accrued,” she told Murray, crying at times as she talked. “Honestly, I’m scared. … I hope Congress finds a way to keep interest rates on student loans down for students like myself.”
Clark College student and 24-year-old single mother Diane Robinson told Murray that she decided to pursue college after a divorce left her with nothing.
“I would not be here without the loans,” Robinson said. “It would just be impossible.”
She also told Murray that she worries about her looming student loan payments every single day. Robinson said she was raised to repay her debts, and not being able to pay off her loans “would eat me alive.”
It’s common for lawmakers to quote from relevant news sources while they debate an issue, but it’s also customary for them to cite their sources. It appears the situation was caused by a simple oversight.
“This was a staff oversight that Sen. Murray and our operation take very seriously – and it will not happen again,” Mike Spahn, Murray’s chief of staff, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are taking steps to immediately correct the official Congressional Record and Senator Murray’s website to reflect credit to The Columbian.”
We all make mistakes, and I’ve made plenty. This particular blooper, no doubt, provided a teachable moment for senate staff who made the blunder. It also serves as a good reminder of what not to do as a writer.
Stevie Mathieu: 360-735-4523 or stevie.mathieu@columbian.com or www.facebook.com/reportermathieu or www.twitter.com/col_politics
