It’s that time of year, and the midterm elections in North Carolina are drawing national attention. In the most expensive race in the state’s history, the stakes are high. For North Carolina college students, these midterm elections are especially crucial.
For this year’s race, certain issues, including reproductive rights, women’s rights, equal pay, public education issues, the national debt, and jobs and the econ- omy, are ones students should pay special attention to.
The platforms of Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., for U.S. Senate, and Laura Fjeld, for U.S. House of Representatives have college students’ best interests.
Hagan, the current Democratic incumbent, is running against Speaker of the N.C. House Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to keep her seat in the Senate. Hagan has run with a strong focus on reproductive rights for women.
Voting against congressional plans to defund Planned Parenthood, she has stated multiple times that she is a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose and that a woman’s choice should be between her and her doctor.
For reproductive rights, Fjeld, who is running for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, is on the same page with Hagan in that a woman’s health care is between her and her doctor. She said the government has no right to dictate a woman’s decision concerning her health.
As for Hagan, her continued support of women’s rights also includes her vote for the Violence Against Women Reau- thorization Act of 2013, which aimed prevent domestic violence and international human trafficking.
An advocate for equal pay, Hagan’s first co-sponsored piece of legislation in the Senate was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The act gives more leeway for those who believe they are not receiving equal pay and need time to provide proof of discrimination.
For a student, public education is an essential issue, especially in North Carolina. Over the past few years, the state has seen cuts on thousands of teaching positions, on arts programs and on teachers’ salaries.
As a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Hagan has been outspoken about public education and pay for teachers. Her position on the committee gives her an inside view on the country’s need for better public edu- cation funding.
Fjeld has said that she stands against cuts on schools, teaching positions and pay. Having served for the past five years as vice president and general counsel for the University of North Carolina system, she is no stranger to the importance of education.
Fjeld is also focusing on creating more jobs in North Carolina and boosting the economy. She supports policies to bring businesses to North Carolina and increase the minimum wage, the latter of which Hagan agrees on. Hagan has voted in support of raising the federal minimum wage from it’s current $7.25 an hour to $10.10.
According to the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, student debt makes up 6 percent of the national debt, accounting for more than $1 trillion from federal student loans alone.
Fjeld promotes cutting the deficit and streamlining spending. Her website states that she will oppose any budget proposal that pushes the responsibility of the debt onto children or students.
Concerning issues of the greatest importance to college students, Hagan and Fjeld are the two candidates who best represent our views.
No matter which candidate you sup- port, vote on Nov. 4.
Have your voice heard, and have a say in what happens in you county, state and country. Have a hand in affecting your own future.