Often as college students, it’s unbelievably easy to become fretful about the future.
One second, we may be thinking about how nice the weather has been that week, which segways to thinking about what you’re going to do that weekend, and then you think about what you’re going to do next year, and it’s a huge uncertainty, and then you think of student loan debt and the job market and panic mode ensues. We definitely understand; transitioning from a college student to a full-time member of the workforce can be frightening, particularly when decisions of the state government have made the future even more precarious.
But what if there was a way you could help to make the future a little bit better?
What if there was a way you could be an integral part of the state’s betterment?
Well, we are pleased to tell you that there IS a way.
Over a dozen Northwestern students from the Enid, Alva and Woodward campuses visited the Oklahoma State Capitol on Feb. 16. The occasion was Higher Education Day; the mission was preserving funding for higher education and lessening the erosion of the education budget that has already occurred this year.
Armed with fact sheets regarding the benefits of supporting higher education and proudly sporting stickers reading #ProtectHigherEd, Northwestern students spent a portion of the day touring the 25to speak with state legislators and senators about the value of higher education.
Higher Education Day is an annual event that encourages lawmakers to take the lives of students into consideration while making decisions concerning the affairs of higher education. The event promotes the importance of a strong system of higher education in Oklahoma.
It was made abundantly clear in speeches by Mary Fallin and Jeffrey Hickman that Oklahoma values higher education as an investment not only in Oklahoman youth, but also in the state’s economy and prosperity. However, no promises were made that there will not be further cuts to the state’s education budget.
Considering the $1.3 billion deficit in the state’s economy, it is understandable that all state agencies will have to be cut; however, higher education institutions are facing the possibilities of needing to cut programs and staff. With a cut in education budgets, there is less of an ability to hire quality faculty, continue building extracurricular programs and supporting students through scholarships.
It is important that we become informed and involved in critical issues facing our state.
Fortunately, in a nation founded on principles of democracy, students have the ability to speak with legislators and senators about issues facing the state. In our technological era, you no longer have to rely on pen and paper to contact state officials. It can be as easy as sending a brief email or Facebook message. It is our state officials’ responsibility to listen to the people of Oklahoma; it is our responsibility to provide a voice.
It is important that we do not brush off our responsibility as citizens to be involved. The power to govern is given to the people, and that is not a right we should take lightly. Apathetic complaints do not bring results, but a unified voice has the power to make change.