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Issue 8
Education & Progress
The complexity of politics eventually leads to the disinterest or at times the complete indifference of the young adult population. Although this often happens, politicians know their chances of changing this nation will tremendously increase if they find a way to get closer to future leading generations. The Rio Grande Valley politicians, as well as other major political icons like Bill Clinton know this and are trying to get in touch with younger generations.
The University of Texas – Pan American, an institution in which the majority of students express interest in modern politics, took note of several local politicians at the Valley Leadership Summit on September 17th. Mr. Salomon Torres, in representation of Congressman Ruben Hinojosa led a discussion targeting Higher Education. He guaranteed university students that funding would increase to $3.0 billion dollars to assure students of extra monetary grants made available for tuition and living expenses.
District 39 State Representative, Armando Martinez, attended the Summit as well; he followed up on higher education. As students obtained more information on this topic, one student cleverly asked about the failing public education system and the funding it has received. Mr. Martinez responded, “…although the current system is not working the way it is supposed to, more than a billion dollars have been invested to accomplish a change that would eventually lead to a better prepared, college oriented student populous.”
In addition to Torres and Martinez, Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., gave statistics on how well we are doing on further funding for Rio Grande Valley students. He also spoke to students about the future possibility of building a medical school in the Valley. This will help many students study medicine close to home at a much more affordable cost, create more jobs, and increase the much needed and fast-paced medical industry locally. This particular topic was of outmost importance for it related to the hotly contested issue of the healthcare reform. Senator Lucio clearly stated it is very disappointing that the “greatest nation in this world has people dying just because they cannot afford healthcare.” Knowing that our representatives keep their thoughts in what students consider to be most important gives us confidence in a period of uncertainty.
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A month after several of our local representatives visited our university, former President Bill Clinton gave a speech regarding the need for change in the U.S. as well as other nations around the world. Former President Clinton discussed this issue in the UTPA Fine Arts Auditorium on Thursday, October 22, 2009. The audience was composed primarily of UTPA students and the general public.
Although his speech focused on the outreach of the younger population, Clinton demonstrated much concern on education. He spoke of the high dropout rates in American schools as well as the low performance by students.
Another issue most elected officials are concerned about is the recent 7% increase in tuition wages on higher education. His main concern dealt specifically with the rapidly changing needs of this innovating world and how our ideas exceed what our planet currently stores for us. He talked about the William J. Clinton Foundation, which focuses on worldwide issues that demand urgent action, solutions, and measurable results – global climate change, HIV/AIDS in the developing world, childhood obesity and economic opportunity in the United States, and economic development in Africa and Latin America.
Clinton truly believes “today’s generation of young people holds more power than any generation before it to make a positive impact on the world.” In his argument, he offers ideas so as to make our natural resources last longer by changing to different alternatives by using solar panels to create energy and make electricity run more efficiently and at lower cost. Knowing we are a top ranking nation in the world, we are letting ourselves fall behind as other countries advance in these alternative solutions. He is right to say, “With enough people, you can change the world.” Although not all of us need to become politicians, we need to be more involved in politics and focused on what our representatives are advocating because we are the ones they are speaking for; they are our voice in the House and Senate. We need to be more aware of what is going on around the world to make our elected officials fight for ours and our planet’s best interest.
Mayra Mendez
