Volume: 59 Issue: 7

Page 1

Volume: 59 Issue: 7

OCTOBER 21, 2015

driftwood.uno.edu

THE RACE FOR STATE

ANGELLE DARDENNE EDWARDS

VITTER

Governor’s race vital to the future of higher ed BY CHARLES NICHOLSON Managing Editor With several debates passed and the polls nearly open, it’s time for the people of Louisiana to get out and vote on election day Saturday, Oct. 24. From executive to judicial to school board, voters have a lot of responsibility on their hands. Voters all across the state are encouraged to stay informed about who and what they are voting for. This is especially important for the students of Louisiana because the governor oversees the funding of higher education. As the state has seen drastic funding cuts to education and healthcare, the people look to the next governor to solve the big issues. Currently, nine candidates are in the running for the gubernatorial election, but only four are making any headway: Republicans David Vitter, Scott Angelle, and Jay Dardenne, and Democrat John Bel Edwards. The candidates seem to be sparing no expense in getting the leverage over one another with numerous public appearances and attack ads coming in full force. On Friday, Oct. 3, Angelle, Dardenne, and Edwards were pres-

ent at the Student Gubernatorial Forum hosted at Southeastern Louisiana University. The debate was moderated by students and also featured questions asked by students regarding their concerns over scholarships, jobs and even the environment. The first question of the debate asked the candidates how TOPS would fair under their governorship. Angelle, the Public Service Commissioner, said that he doesn’t believe in capping TOPS funding. “I will always believe in a state budget that will have nine and a half billion dollars that there will be enough money to take care and fund one of the most important programs we’ve ever had in the history of Louisiana, that being the TOPS program,” Angelle said. State Representative Edwards said that TOPS will be “remarkable” when he is governor. “This is what we have to do: We have to stop the double-digit tuition increases that we’ve seen over the last eight years,” said Edwards. Lt. Governor Dardenne said, “As we know, we’re among the highest states in poverty. There’s no question that people who are living in poverty can’t really subsist day-today, much less worry about paying college tuition so both [merit-based

and need-based scholarships] have to be a key factor in educational opportunities for young people in this state.” The candidates were also questioned on the likelihood of which students will have jobs after graduating. “Government is not responsible for creating jobs. It’s responsible for creating an atmosphere that let’s the private sector create jobs,” said Dardenne. “One of the things we’ve gotten right over the course of the past several years is the Workforce Investment Council and the work that’s taking place between community and technical schools, fouryear degree schools, the business community and all those who have a stake in educating our young people.” Angelle took a similar approach saying, “Certainly government does not create jobs. People in business create jobs. The job of the governor is to create an environment that attracts capital. Capital goes and is employed where it is treated well.” Edwards said, “The role of the government is obviously to create opportunity for people right here in Louisiana to be successful and nowhere is that more important than job creation...we can do that by making sure that our students are

well prepared.” Crime, a hot-topic issue, specifically in New Orleans, was also addressed. All of the candidates proposed more funding for the state’s police force. Angelle said that crime is decreased when jobs are at an increase, while Dardenne said that the top issues in crime in America are domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse. Coastal protection and restoration was touched upon as well. Candidates cited funding opportunities for coastal restoration from both the federal government and the BP settlement. “But the fact of the matter is we have to make sure that Congress knows that the Louisiana Coast is a national priority deserving of investment from the taxpayers across the country, in terms of our energy production, the navigation and shipping, being a hurricane buffer, and just the ecology of the area with the fisheries and the estuaries,” said Edwards. The candidates were asked to agree or disagree with giving state legislature authority to set tuition and having legislature protect the rights of LGBT workers. Edwards and Dardenne agreed with both while Angelle disagreed with both. Senator David Vitter was absent from the debate due to a prior en-

gagement. Vitter has been absent from most of the televised debates, a large criticism of his campaign. The Senator has recently been under scrutiny over the resurgence of allegations of an affair with a former prostitute named Wendy Ellis back in 2007. Ellis now claims that she was pregnant with his child and said that Vitter told her to have an abortion. The Vitter campaign has not responded to the allegations. Yet even with the troubled waters of his campaign, Vitter still leads his fellow candidates in the polls. Vitter has addressed the issues with higher education, labeling it a “death by a thousand cuts.” “One of the biggest reasons higher ed has gotten disproportionate cuts is because everything else is off limits to some extent. It’s protected, it’s dedicated. And we need to change that to protect higher ed,” said Vitter on KTVE 10 in Monroe, LA. “TOPS is an absolute lifeline for a lot of families, a lot of students. So I strongly support it.” With Vitter and Edwards leading the polls, many predictions see a runoff between the two going into the general election this Nov. However, there is still time for a major upset before the primary this Saturday, leaving the outcome unclear.


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Volume: 59 Issue: 7 by Driftwood - Issuu