Education: crucial issue for 1996
By Michael Angell
The year 1996 marks the return of that spectacle called the
presidential elections. Politicos across the country will be
shaking hands, kissing babies and lunching with blue-collar workers
in an effort to get the vote.
One important group that politicians want to grab are students –
and the two major political parties are sending out different
messages to young voters as to why their party should win in
1996.
Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler said that Bill Clinton
deserves to be called the "Education President."
"The president and the vice president are clearly committed to
an educational program and the creation of opportunities for this
generation of students to an extent which I think has rarely been
duplicated." Fowler said.
But Jay Wang,president of Bruin Republicans believes that the
Democrats are not helping the country, much less students.
"We’ve had 60 years of ‘New Deal’ politics which have proven to
be a failure," Wang said.
He equated the sorry state of American education with the
government’s involvement in it. Wang said his party wants to put
the family back in charge thereby decreasing government
intervention.
"Federal government should not be bankrolling higher education,"
Wang said. "Education is a privilege, not a right."
Democrats will try to protect or increase many of the programs
that Wang believes take away parental responsibility, including
Head Start, school lunches, student loans, and Pell grants. Fowler
praised Clinton’s efforts to protect these programs and his efforts
to expand others such as direct lending and research money for
universities.
As for the president’s effectiveness in the wake of the
Republican revolution, Fowler said Clinton’s remaining term will be
used defending the programs he has already shepherded through
Congress and fighting for new proposals.
"The Republicans outnumber the people in the House and the
Senate who support the president," Fowler said. "But the President
has made it clear … that he will veto legislation passed by
Congress that will cut (educational) programs."
But Wang believes that Republican control of the Congress should
send a message to Clinton that his programs are unpopular.
The Republican landslide signifies a "certain disillusionment
with politics as usual," Wang said. "Politics should not be a
career, but philanthropic service. Republicans are the party that
offer term limits."
That same self-sacrificing spirit which, according to Wang,
infuses that the Republican party should also be taken up by the
average citizen. In a time of budget cuts, everyone has to make a
sacrifice.
In an interview during the October budget debates, Rep. Howard
"Buck" McKeon (R-Calif.) said, "We all have to take a share of the
loss in cutting this deficit. Our debt now is almost $5
trillion
"I would think that university students, college students, all
young people should be rising up in strong protest about this debt
that we have because (young people) are the ones that are getting
left with this," McKeon said.
For their part, Democrats hope a second term in the White House
means a possible overthrow of the Republican domination of the
Congress, according to Fowler. He believes that Democrats can ride
into Congress on Clinton’s coattails if he cinches the 1996
election.
"We believe, and I believe, that if he is re-elected that we
will regain control of the house."
In order to wrest control from the GOP, Democrats are calling
students from across the country to get out and vote. Fowler said
his party will take to the airwaves to inform college students
about what Clinton has done for them and what he will continue to
do if re-elected.
For the upcoming elections, Fowler will stage press conferences
with student newspapers and college radio stations as well as
cyber-canvassing on the Internet.
"We are (also) planning … a series of meetings that focuses on
the president’s re-election throughout the springtime … capping
it off with a major rally with the president primarily for college
students."
The Republican plans for courting student voters are as yet
uncertain, according to Wang. One tactic will be ensuring that
House Speaker Newt Gingrich does not make any more offensive
comments.
"I agree with Newt, but his comments sometimes lack propriety,"
Wang said.
Regardless of one’s position in 1996, Fowler said that students
interested in protecting their education should get involved in the
1996 election.
ANDREW SCHOLER/Daily Bruin
Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler speaks to students about
the party’s 1996 campaign plans.
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