By Allison Larrimore, Nov, 5, 2024
In addition to the presidential election, 33 out of 100 United States Senate seats are on the 2024 ballot, including one for California, impacting students across the state as tuition costs continue to increase.
Rep. Adam Schiff and former MLB player Steve Garvey are the two candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively. Though there is only one senate seat open for California, they are running for two separate terms. The first is for the final two months of longtime Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term following her death in September 2023, ending Jan. 3, 2025. The second is for the typical six-year senate term in the 119th Congress.
An issue they both address in their plans as prospective senators is the cost of higher education and how they aim to make the college experience more accessible and affordable for students.
On Schiff’s campaign website, the three main points listed for lowering costs are making public college free in California, expanding Pell Grants and canceling student loan debt. He plans to guarantee two years of tuition-free community college using tax credits for those making less than $125,000 per year, as well as canceling at least $50,000 in debt for every student loan borrower with Schiff’s Student Loan Relief for Medicare and Social Security Recipients Act.
Alternatively, Garvey’s campaign website lists two proposals for tackling higher education costs. Similar to Schiff, he plans to expand Pell Grant eligibility, but with a different angle by offering it for vocational programs in addition to college degrees. He also aims to further develop the federal apprenticeship program, something not mentioned in Schiff’s plans, by increasing federal support for apprenticeships with the Training America’s Workforce Act.
Angelina Prieto, a political science student and the president of Cal Poly Pomona’s Political Science Club, said she values and hopes to see a concrete plan about increasing access and funding for higher education for people who feel it’s not available to them.
“I think that it’s really important for engagement, and also just for getting people out of bad situations,” said Prieto. “Knowledge is power, and education is also power.”
Richard Gonzalez, a history student and the president of CPP’s History Club, echoed this and hopes higher education will be made more affordable. He also emphasized the importance of voting,calling it an act of engaging in America’s democracy, coming together as a community and voicing opinions.
Prieto and Mohammad Al-Yaseen, a political science student and the vice president of the Political Science Club, both believe voting in state elections is of equally and possibly more important than voting in the presidential election, especially for those concerned with their education.
“You’re electing people that are going to focus on your state directly to make sure that what your state is struggling with is going to be accurately addressed,” said Prieto. “I think that it’s more important now than ever for students, for people that want to become students or want to have a higher education to really get educated on who they want to vote for.”
Al-Yaseen also encouraged students enrolled in public institutions like CPP to take elections more seriously since, unlike private institutions that run on tuition and donation funds, public education is entirely funded by local, state and federal governments.
“Students need to realize that when they cast their votes for state elections or nationwide elections, they’re casting the vote of their own educational destiny,” said Al-Yaseen.
The deadline to vote in the 2024 general election is Nov. 5. All registered voters may submit their ballots through mail or at in-person voting centers. For more information on voting in California, visit the California Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ca.gov.
Featured images courtesy of AP news