Candidate Howell holds town hall meeting at USU
Scott Howell, the Democratic senatorial candidate running against six-term Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, addressed a body of USU students and faculty on Thursday afternoon in the Taggart Student Center Auditorium.
“I am running for United States Senate because I believe you are the future,” Howell said.
He said he’s running his campaign based on three “E’s”: Education, economic development and energy conservation.
Howell said promoting, using and teaching technology in classrooms and lowering class sizes helps create viable schools, which can compete in a global economy.
“I am passionate about education, I am passionate about you, because you are the future,” Howell told students.
He said this passion drives his higher education policy, which focuses on keeping tuition costs down and supporting financial aid.
He said students should take every opportunity they can in college.
“Take advantage of this education experience like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “Live your dream. And when I say that, find your passion, then exploit that. Exploit it to the sense that you can go out and make a better community, a better state, and a better America.”
Students should work to obtain jobs in order to successfully compete in a global economy and to improve economic development, Howell said.
“You need jobs, every one of you needs a job, we have to ensure that you have a job,” Howell said. “Now, government doesn’t create jobs, but what we do is give you the incentive to be the best prepared to have a job.”
In addition to utilizing school, Howell said students should consider their natural resources. He said clean water and clean air contribute to a good economy.
“Renewable energy is homeland security,” he said. “Let’s wing ourselves off foreign oil. Let’s take advantage of wind, of solar, of geothermal. Let’s take that technology and integrate it into every building there is and make sure that when we go out we have clean water and clean air.”
Howell stressed the importance of the student vote.
“Some days you will vote Democratic and some days you will vote Republican, but you will always vote the right way when you use three ‘c’s’: conscience, constituents, and the constitution,” he said.
Ben Kiser, a junior majoring in social studies, said students around him need to be more politically active and learn to create change.
“Our generation has so much opportunity because we are accepting to change and we can make a change, but it’s only if we can overcome apathy,” he said. “I think voting is very important to everyone who has the opportunity,” he said.
College Democrats president Briana Bowen said she selected Howell to come speak because it’s important for students to understand the power of the senate seat and make an educated decision when voting.
“It’s of critical importance for people to pay attention to these state wide races because these are genuine policy makers they are going to be making decisions that affect our future,” Bowen said. “They are going to be making decisions that affect education policies, and student loans and they are going to be making decisions that are going to affect the economy after we all graduate.”
– jerawood@aggiemail.usu.edu