WEEKEND EDITION / VOLUME 90 / ISSUE 43 / NOV. 5, 2015
RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE ISSUES AFFECTING STUDENTS IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
By JENNIFER ROMERO
STUDENTS DISCUSS GUN RIGHTS
L a Vida editor
Many topics have been discussed in political debates, and an issue many college students have an opinion on is gun rights. On the Texas Tech campus, students have opposing views on what gun rights U.S. citizens should have and how much regulation the government should have over them. Kim Schwartz, a senior public relations major from San Angelo and member of Young Conserva-
By MICHAEL CANTU
YOUNGER VOTE IN ELECTION MATTERS
Staff Writer
With numerous studies conducted on who does and does not vote, there are many theories as to why younger voters seem non-existent. To many people, there seems to be a notion that people ages 18 to 24 are hardly ever seen at the polls come election time. “A part of it is choices,” Seth McKee, associate professor of political science, said. “When you look at the presidential menu, you look at the
By SHASHIDHAR SASTRY
TECH STUDENTS DISCUSS HEALTHCARE
Staff Writer
The Affordable Care Act, officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was signed into law on March 23, 2010, by U.S. President Barack Obama. In the years that have followed, Obamacare, as it is commonly known, has been the subject of much controversy. Obamacare has received fierce opposition from Republicans, and the GOP-led House of Representatives has voted more than 50 times
By AMY CUNNINGHAM
US MINIMUM WAGE TO BE DEBATED
Managing editor
Presidential hopefuls are already discussing whether the federal minimum wage should be increased, and the debate is unlikely to end soon. Masha Rahnama, associate professor of economics, said whether the government should increase the federal minimum wage will be discussed at length throughout the race for the White House. “I think (it will be discussed) because that’s something society and
tives of Texas, said she thinks it is important for citizens to be able to arm themselves. “It is important for them to be able to take protection and responsibility into their own hands,” she said. “In a candidate what I would look for is someone who is willing to empower the people with the right to bear arms instead of trying to give that power to the government.” From the presidential debates that have been hosted so far, Schwartz said her views on gun rights align more with the Republican candidates.
Destiny Molina, a junior political science major from Lubbock and president of Tech Student Democrats, said she thinks there should be more regulations placed on the ability of people to arm themselves. “The general public should not have easy access to guns,” she said. “Guns here in Texas are seen differently than in the entire world. I don’t want to take guns away from people completely because I’m sure that would cause mayhem.”
choices you have. Does anyone excite you? Anyone relate to you? Anyone can get you?” Many younger voters do not identify as well with the candidates, whether they are presidential candidates or candidates for community elections, McKee said. This was also part of the reason current U.S. President Barack Obama was able to mobilize his campaign through the younger vote. The message and perception matters when it comes to elections, McKee said, and many people found
they were better in tune with Obama’s policies as opposed to the Republican candidate John McCain. He was better able to speak to the younger constituencies’ wants, mainly by offering a reduction in college tuition. “If you look, historically there’s a real pattern when you look at age and participation and it clearly starts on the low end with young people,” McKee said. “But Obama proved that you can really cut into the disparity, the lower rate of voting among young people.”
to repeal or undermine the act. All major Republican candidates running for president also have promised to repeal the act, if elected. Destiny Molina, president of Tech Student Democrats and a junior political science major from Lubbock, said it was good to have Obamacare passed into law before Obama’s term concluded. It took an enormous amount of effort to pass the bill and a similar act would have been extremely difficult for any future president. The primary focus of the Affordable Care Act is to make healthcare
affordable and accessible to everyone, Molina said. Many people fail to embrace the fact that healthcare can become exorbitant in certain situations. Health insurance is a necessary evil, she said, and mandating was a good provision of Obamacare. “Making it mandatory kind of helps push people that were giving excuses not have health care prior because it was so expensive,” Molina said.
workers want,” he said. “We’re going to get elected representatives and president, so they have to pay attention to that.” The national minimum wage will likely increase within the next five years to $15-20 per hour, he said, because of the results of some economists’ studies. The federal minimum wage was last raised in 2009 when it increased to $7.25 from $6.55 per hour, according to a Pew Research Center study conducted in July. “I think if you’re increasing mini-
mum wage, that makes workers healthier,” Rahnama said. “They can afford to do a lot of things and when you have healthier workers, they will be more productive.” Almost 30 states have increased their minimum wages from the national standard, according to the study, with Washington and Oregon paying their employees the most. Those who oppose an increase in minimum wage often say unemployment rates will increase, Rahnama said.
SEE GUN RIGHTS, PG. 5
SEE VOTING, PG. 6
SEE HEALTHCARE, PG. 5
SEE WAGE, PG. 3