COLUMN: Democrat? What’s that?
Whereas some prefer to be defined as “what they don’t stand for,” we as College Democrats are confident in defining ourselves as “what we stand for.” We stand for a quality and well-funded education. The emphasis placed on supporting meaningful and effective educational initiatives and programs reflects the concern and care which an individual, group or political organization has for the future of this society and of this country.
The Democratic Party has a long-standing commitment to supporting and strengthening our public schools and opposes any plan that siphons federal money away from public schools to private schools. Alternatives have been presented with regards to making the public system more efficient, yet with almost 50 million children, 90 percent of students, attending America’s public elementary and secondary schools, we must ensure that our present decisions don’t gamble with their future.
In addition, the Democratic Party believes that a college education should be as universal as high school is today, training America’s students for a fast-moving, fast-changing economy. Democrats support tax deductions for college tuition and funding federal loan programs.
The Democratic Party is dedicated to building on its long-time initiative of reducing class size by hiring 100,000 new teachers. So far, Democrats have fought for $1.6 billion in authorization funding to hire 37,000 teachers for 1.9 million students. Democrats are also committed to making sure students have safe, modern facilities in which to learn. It is unacceptable that almost one-third of our country’s public schools are in a serious state of disrepair. For this reason, Democrats in the Senate voted to authorize $1.6 billion for the construction and renovation of public school buildings next year. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrats fought to include school construction measures in the education bill.
This pattern of support for education is well-represented in the platform of all the Democratic presidential candidates. Just to sample three of them, this is what Gen. Wesley Clark had to say, “I will follow through on the commitments we make to our children. I believe that we need to fully fund the laws we pass, to ensure that no child is actually left behind … And our system of financial assistance to college students is both insufficient and unduly complicated. I will help (by funding appropriate initiatives) every young person in this country get the chance to go to college.”
Gov. Howard Dean of Vermont formulated his views on higher education in this way, “This country cannot afford for college to be an ‘elites only’ program. Every family should know that their children will be able to afford to go to college and every young person needs to know at an early age that nothing will keep the door to college closed for them.”
And lastly, Sen. John Kerry declared that he opposes “private school vouchers that will drain scarce funds from public schools. Instead, [I] support efforts to increase resources to public schools to ensure all students have quality teachers, high standards, smaller classes, and safe, modern schools.”
Understanding that by funding and supporting education, one secures the future of this nation, the Democratic Party has made and will continue to make educational issues one of its top priorities. As students, it is our obligation to carefully review the current administration’s policy and commitment with regards to education, by looking beyond the rhetoric and empty words, less we unwittingly undermine our own future. Nor should you take what has been written here unquestionably. So, go to www.dnc.org and become more acquainted with more Democratic alternatives. You owe it to yourself.
Medlir Mema is a senior majoring in political science. Comments can be sent to medlirm@cc.usu.edu.