Doug Jones mentioned early in his remarks before an audience of students from Miles College that when he went to Washington, D.C., after winning a special election to the U.S. Senate, he didn’t realize that he was going to be a part of a government that functioned according to what someone says on Twitter — an oblique reference to President Donald Trump’s penchant for tweets that make the nation’s capital go topsy-turvy.

Then he opened the floor for questions, which were submitted via Twitter using the hashtag #DougMeetsMiles.

Students could therefore be forgiven for working on their smart phones during Jones’ appearance Thursday at Pearson Hall on the campus of the historically black college in Fairfield. It was one of several town hall meetings he held at universities and colleges across the state during the Senate’s recess.

Jones faced a friendly crowd, who asked him mostly about issues that are part of the Democratic Party agenda. Restoration of voting rights for felons, abortion rights, ways of combating the recent wave of mass shootings and help for those with heavy debt loads from student loans were among the topics the students posed to Alabama’s junior senator. Read more.