Back to school
By Daily Bruin Staff
July 7, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 7, 1996
Candidates must focus on issues pertinent to young voters to win
their votesBy Michelle Best and
Matthew Scrabis
Summer Bruin Contributors
In the last 116 years, no Republican has become president
without the support of California.
With November right around the corner, presidential candidates
have begun focusing in on certain key issues that affect California
voters.
The 1992 presidential campaign brought to light two unavoidable
considerations.
First, that presidential candidates cannot write-off California
as Bush did, and second, that candidates who pay attention to the
issues of younger voters stand to gain as Clinton did in 1992.
In California, several issues relating to colleges and youth
have come to the campaign forefront. Two of the most important
issues are affirmative action and educational funding.
Mobilizing student support will depend upon the candidate’s
positions on these issues.
Come November, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton
and Republican candidate Bob Dole will be asked to turn student
concerns into votes.
"You will see in poll after poll and study after study that
young people vote on issues, not always on a party," said Verna
Kuo, Clinton’s youth campus director for California in 1996.
Dole’s age has become a topic of debate among students who are
afraid that he is too old to understand the needs of younger
people.
"As far as the generation gap, I think people feel secure with
Bob Dole … and people feel very comfortable in his leadership,"
said John Peschong, executive director of the California Republican
Party.
Strong leadership will be necessary to deal with affirmative
action, one of the biggest issues facing the California education
system.
In a speech Clinton gave at a ceremony for the NAACP last year,
he hailed affirmative action as the system that finally gave the
nation a way to address "systematic exclusion" of individuals from
opportunities.
"Affirmative action is an effort to develop a systematic
approach to open the doors … to qualified individuals who happen
to be members of groups that have experienced long-standing and
persistent discrimination," Clinton said.
On the other hand, Bob Dole sees affirmative action as a system
of government preferences to favor individuals simply because they
belong to a particular group.
"The key," Dole wrote recently, "is to guarantee the opportunity
to compete, not rig the results of the competition with quotas, set
asides and other preferences."
The California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), an initiative
that favors getting rid of affirmative action, has been supported
by Dole. Republicans believe that they will have heavy support for
CCRI from college students.
"I think in the Fall you’re going to see wide support on college
campuses," Peschong said. "There are going to be people out there
talking about ‘merit,’ about people who earn things, not people who
are given things because of some standard. You’re going to see a
lot of support on college campuses."
"If Peschong thinks that Republicans can earn students’ votes by
dividing and conquering via the California Civil Rights Initiative,
he is dead wrong," said Darrin Hurwitz, external vice president of
the Bruin Democrats.
Along with affirmative action, education financing is an issue
that concerns the college population.
According to campaign officials, the provision of educational
opportunities is of critical concern to both Clinton and Dole. Each
candidate has addressed their commitment to make college more
affordable and accessible.
The Clinton administration points to its record of
accomplishments in this area by calling attention to the Americorps
Program, the Direct Lending Program for College, the School to Work
Opportunities Act, the increases in Pell Grants and proposals for
credits to aid in guaranteed access to college.
Americorps, Clinton’s national service program designed to help
college students earn money for college in return for community
service, is a hot topic among students.
"Americorps is a very successful program," said Mike Schneider,
president of the Bruin Democrats. "It’s an amazing program that
Republicans want to cut."
However, just how successful Americorps has been is difficult to
gauge. "No one really pays attention to implementation. In general,
are there more students benefiting from this? There’s not a lot of
evidence (to support that claim),"said political science Professor
Paul Frymer.
According to the Clinton Administration, between 1992 and 1996,
the monetary aid to college and post-secondary students, including
loans, grants and work-study, increased by $15.8 billion.
Yet, it is questionable whether these increases are actually due
to the president’s policies. "The general trend is that more and
more people are attending college and this could be the reason why
there has been a big increase in financial aid," Frymer said.
There are some things Clinton and Dole can agree on. "President
Clinton had an idea that was pretty good and that was credits for
two-year college students," Dole said while campaigning in
February, referring to Clinton’s Hope Scholarship plan.
The plan would ensure that students get a tax credit, Pell
Grant, or combination for tuition to encourage the universality of
at least a two-year post secondary education.
The Hope Scholarship has already proven itself an overwhelming
success in the state of Georgia, said Mark Nevins, communications
director of the College Democrats of America. "This is not a tax
deduction  it’s a tax credit. The money you save is real
savings," Nevins emphasized.
However, Dole went on to criticize Clinton’s Direct Loan, or
"Pay-as-you-go," Program as a complete government takeover of the
student loan industry. Dole argues that it means more big
government, more bureaucrats, more waste, and more government
debt.
Instead, he supports the Republican plan to increase the amount
lent to students while cutting overall spending by shifting more
costs and risks to the private sector.
Dole also supports the Republican Budget Plan that, according to
Republican officials, provides for an increase in student loans by
almost 50 percent.
"This $11 billion increase is free from any new costs to
students or parents," said officials at the Bob Dole for President
Campaign office.
Concerning Dole’s commitment to student loan programs, Democrats
challenge Republican leaders to explain to students why, in this
year’s budget, Republicans attempted to cut 380,000 Pell Grant
scholarships and reduce education and training programs by more
than $30 billion.
Democrats also question why the Republican budget wants to raise
student loan costs by $10 billion over a seven-year period.
"This is the same party that actually claims that it will
increase Medicaid when, in fact, its budget plan for 1996 cuts into
Medicaid," said Schneider. "(The Republican) party generally says
one thing and does another."
In response to criticism, some Republicans contend that to
expect government to pay unprecedented sums for education is not
feasible.
"Washington doesn’t have the money, and federal bureaucrats have
proven themselves incompetent when it comes to administering such
programs," said Mike Cooper, secretary of the Bruin
Republicans.
CAROLYN COLE/Los Angeles Times
Bob Dole, accompanied by wife Elizabeth, signed copies of his
book "Unlimited Partners" at Border’s Bookstore in Westwood last
week.