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Show VOTE FOR EDUCATION EDITORIAL CARTOON THROW ALL THE O ver Fall Break, the U hosted a debate between Republican Mia Love and Democrat Doug Owens, candidates vying for the seat occupied by the retiring Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) in Utah's 4th congressional district.The debate highlighted the candidates' views on education. This election season, resident U students should closely follow the intersection of politics with education policies that directly affect them. The 4th district includes a substantial part of Salt Lake County, so many resident U students belong to the electorate. According to opinion polls, the race is relatively close and has been tightening, with Love maintaining the lead. If elected, Mia Love will become the first African-American woman to represent the GOP in Congress. The close race signals a chance for Utah Dems to maintain a national political voice. Love's gender and race may give Owens a political advantage, considering the conservative majority in the 4th district electorate. The main contention in the debate centered on educational policies. Owens, taking a middle-of-the-road stance (ostensibly TEAR GAS YOU WANT* WE DEMAND THE Warr TO SELECT OUR OWN CANDIDATES! YOUR DESPOTIC RULE ;dit(V i"ill ArrilagiliK WILL NOT STAWD!!! SIPP Po I WA NT TO ATTEND ALL STUDENTS SHOULD VOTE GOTTA scIRAM • LATER* CARTOON BY JON KIM W ith Halloween just around the corner, many U students will undoubtedly be exercising their right to act like children again by donAARON ning masks and wearing colorful costumes while partying the night away with tricks and treats. However, once the costumes have been put away, it's time for students to start thinking about exercising their right to vote by participating in the upcoming local elections on November 4th. In a recent interview, Saratoga Springs mayor Mia Love, who is running for Congress in Utah's 4th district, spoke about the importance of students getting out to the ballots and casting a vote for their own future and the future of their children. "The decisions made in Congress today have a tremendous impact on your generation. That's why it's vital that students get involved and make their voices heard," Love said. "Take, for example, the national debt, which sits at nearly $18 trillion. The interest on that debt is substantial, and unfortunately if nothing is done to address the debt now, your generation and your children's generation will be the ones who have to pay for it' If the idea of having to deal with $18 trillion dollars in debt isn't enough to get students motivated to study up on the issues and vote, then perhaps focusing on an issue that directly effects students today — their own education and student loans — will serve as an eye opener. Both Love and her opponent, Doug Owens, have made education a big part of their platform in running for Utah's 4th district. "We must do everything possible to provide students with more student loan options.The current federal monopoly on student loans has done nothing to prevent tuition rates from skyrocketing," Love said. "My plan is to encourage more loan options for students. I support increasing CLARK *OTHER THINGS I COULD BE DOING 171:141/4T NIGHT, 10 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2014 The increased availability of student loan money and the lack of responsibility on the end of universities has seen the excess used to pad the pockets of administrators (a study from Institute for Policy Studies correlates increases in student debt and state university administrator pay) and re-directed into what are essentially marketing projects. There's a reason workhorse buildings like OSH don't ever seem to get renovated while much-discussed new construction projects are a constant certainty on the U campus. The result is an increasing disconnect in the price of higher education and its end product. While Love remarked that "free markets" were the solution to elitist education, Owens articulately argued a moderate position in favor of federal spending for education, and he suggested a program for using the final year of high school to start students' college education. Neither candidate spoke to the predatory nature of the current loans system, university administrator pay or the accreditation system. The issues surrounding the upcoming race are important for students to consider. Resident U students should familiarize themselves with the relevant candidates on issues that directly affect them prior to the upcoming Nov. 4 election. letters@chronicle.utah.edu ■ I NEXT WEEK'S CAUCUS: * or v * 11P ♦ gou iTRIPPIN IA BRO; r lfr '11 di' THERE ARE 50 MANS- I to court the electorate in a race rated "Safe Republican" by the University of Virginia's Center for Politics), was critical of Love's prior-stated positions regarding education spending. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, she sent out a mailer during her 2012 race against Matheson that included elimination of student loans and Pell Grants among proposed cuts. When pressed about the mailer in the media scrum following the debate, Love went against her earlier position: "I am not going to say that I'm getting rid of student loans ... what does that do [for] people that need to have some assistance? I am concerned about the unlimited flow of federal funds going into student loans, driving up the cost of tuition:' I asked her if she had a position on student loan forgiveness. She said that she did not, but followed with: "I think that it's important for us to have some personal responsibility and ... when you borrow something [to be able to] pay it back:' While Love may not be forthcoming about her actual opinion on education cuts, her post-debate commentary hits the nail on the head as to the mechanism of rising costs in higher education. Easy access to loan money for a growing consumer base, an ever-more-entrenched paradigm viewing college education as a workforce 'necessity' and a stagnant market, where extant institutions are protected from new competition by a broken accreditation system, has created a price wedge. competition on student loan rates by allowing college students to choose between federal, state, private and commercial student loan programs. I'm open to any ideas that will stop tuition rates from skyrocketing:' When the U announced its tuition rate hike for 2015, many students complained about the increase and the fact they felt like they had no control over the process. The truth of the matter is that students do have an element of control over these issues. Taking the time to research candidates who support higher education and who want to help students pay for it can substantially affects the way these issues are handled in the future. There are many politicians who are aware of the issues facing students and have an open ear to their voices, but in order to be heard, students must speak out. Students have more influence over their own future than they think, and their votes make a difference. Love is a politician who is aware of the issues that are facing students and has made it part of her platform to help students attain and pay for their education. However, students need to realize that in failing to research the issues of the candidates, they miss out on opportunities to vote for those that would help their own cause. Every vote does count, as Love can attest — she lost a close election in 2012 for Congress against the incumbent Jim Matheson by a mere 768 votes. The moral of the story here is that your vote as a student is important, and many politicians, like Love, are aware of how much it counts and are campaigning for your support. Taking the time to know what a candidate's stance on issues like education is and then voting for the candidate who will help with tuition costs and student debt is imperative to spur change. So enjoy the chance to act like a child this Halloween and revel in the wicked fun of the season, but come Nov. 4 be sure to dabble in the adult world of politics by getting to the polls and casting a vote for your own future. letters@chronicle.utah.edu 11 |