By Enya Kuo | Editor-in-Chief

Representatives for 17th District Congressman Mike Honda and congressional candidate Ro Khanna met with students Wednesday and Thursday in Norse Hall and discussed their backgrounds and platforms.

The meetings were set up by sophomore Nikita Gupta, who also arranged for Khanna to visit Irvington last year. For the midterm election this November, Khanna is challenging 14-year incumbent Honda, who seeks reelection for his eighth term. Students asked about what work Honda has done since the 2012 district redrawing and about Khanna’s stances toward education, among others, but many students were dissatisfied with the responses.

Khanna’s representatives “didn’t really answer our questions that well,” senior Eleanor Yan said. “They used a lot of filler words. They would say, ‘From what we know, he hasn’t really talked about it.’ They just said Ro supports education.”

Honda’s representatives “relied on Ms. CK to answer the question,” added senior Abhinav Bhardwaj, who asked why Honda accepted money from large corporations despite being against Citizens United. “They blatantly ignored the fact that he has taken 2.5 million dollars from super PACs.”

Senior Tiffany Lo, who was a fellow for Honda for three months, disagreed and said Honda’s representatives did well.

“His representatives did a good job explaining how our Congressman connects our constituents to the legislature,” she said. “In terms of responding to questions, they definitely gave a clearer picture of how the redistricting has affected Rep. Honda and other congressmen as well as how he has acquainted himself with Fremont and Newark, which he newly represents.”

But senior Helen Wu still said both offices’ representatives responded weakly.

“All they’re trying to do is pimp their campaign to the students,” she said. “They gave generic answers that make them sound like they’re running for Miss America.”