Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) speaks to University of Maryland students on Monday, April 27, 2015.

As U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) spoke to students at the University of Maryland on Monday night, violent riots and protests took place in Baltimore after a 25-year-old resident died from injuries suffered while in police custody.

“We’re gathered here on a very difficult evening in the state of Maryland,” said Van Hollen, a U.S. Senate candidate. “This … should make all of us in this state wake up and ask ourselves what we can do to prevent these kinds of tragedies and unnecessary deaths.”

Van Hollen addressed this issue, along with his views and plans for the future, to a crowd of about 45 students in Stamp Student Union’s Atrium at Monday night’s UMD College Democrats-hosted town hall.

He said the government must change relations between law enforcement officers and citizens and discussed topics such as student debt, the economy and political issues that affect college students.

Van Hollen’s run comes after Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) announced her retirement in 2016, leaving her U.S. Senate seat open.

“We often hear about, ‘Oh, candidates don’t really care about millennials. They don’t care about students. They don’t spend time with students,’” said Ben Kramer, UMD College Democrats president. “And this is an example of a candidate who is, and I would really encourage everybody to take advantage of that.”

Kramer said this town hall gave students a rare opportunity to hear a Senate candidate’s wishes to influence state politics, as Senate seats are rarely up for grabs.

As the election approaches, Kramer said it is important for students to not only hear from candidates, but to also voice concerns about policy issues.

Van Hollen said this country was founded on the principle of “equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity,” and the real challenge is to make sure the country abides by that.

He co-sponsored legislation this session that would allow college graduates who have high interest rates to refinance student loans. He said congressional Democrats are also trying to preserve President Obama’s initiatives that allow students to obtain loan-repayment plans based on their income.

Junior government and politics major Tom Klotz said social justice is an important political issue, and Van Hollen offered some “pragmatic solutions” to the problems facing the criminal justice system today.

“I thought he was great,” Klotz said. “In a lot of ways I agree with him, and I think he responded really well to the audience.”

Kramer said his organization hopes to host town halls with all the Democratic candidates before the election arrives. In addition to Van Hollen, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Maryland) has also declared her candidacy for the open seat.

Van Hollen also stressed the impact college students can have on election results.

“At the end of the day, if you’re not involved in this process, we will certainly not make progress, and if you’re not involved, we could be going backwards on a lot of these issues,” he said.

Senior Hannah Shapiro said she has been a Republican her entire life, and while she disagreed with some of Van Hollen’s points, she said she supports his efforts to fight for people with disabilities and believes he will do more to advance the cause. Shapiro has a brother with a disability, and Van Hollen’s work to pass the ABLE Act has directly impacted her life and her family.

“He’s been a congressional champion for disability policy,” said Shapiro, a government and politics major, “unlike most congressmen.”