Student political groups debate hot-button issues
Time was allowed for rebuttals from each side during debate.
Published Oct. 29, 2010
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Missouri Student Association Senate Speaker Evan Wood glances at his notes as sophomore Nick Brennan stands up to ask the MU College Democrats a question Tuesday in Stotler Lounge. The debate covered issues such as the environment, health care and education.
The Mizzou College Republicans and MU Democrats debated the health care reform law, education and environment issues Tuesday night. MU Democrats President Iavora Vlaytcheva said they publicized the event with flyers and through Twitter and Facebook. About 20 people attended the event, not including the debate teams.
Health Care
Freshman Erin Morris of the Mizzou College Republican said Republicans are opposed to health care from the federal government due to the long lines that cause patients to wait to be treated. She said having national health care provided by the federal government would increase the national debt and do more harm than good.
Senior Saba Sahlu, a Democrat, said providing American citizens affordable health care is encompassed under citizens being entitled to the right to life under the Declaration of Independence. Sahlu said it is the government’s responsibility to protect citizens’ rights and health care should be a right protected by the government.
During the allotted time for rebuttals, Morris said doctors will still help people regardless of their financial status if they are fatally ill and in need of serious medical attention.
“Of course he’s (the doctor) not going to let you die," she said. "He’s going to charge you out the ‘ying-yang.'"
Sophomore Travis Zimpfer, Democrat, said the party does not want to completely abolish private health care, but that businesses will have to then compete with each other and make their products more affordable and better quality.
“In real life, people all go over to public industry, as Great Britain proves,” Mizzou College Republicans Treasurer Devin Kelsey said.
Education
Pertaining to education, Morris said it would be a good idea to give tax credits to people who send their children to college in order to help them pay for it and to prompt more children to attend college. She also said she feels work on financing education needs to be more localized instead of handled through the state and federal governments.
For the Democrat perspective, Zimpfer said the key is not cutting funding to state education budgets.
“How can you make more progress if you don’t have the funding?” Morris asked. “Funding’s not the issue. It’s the ways and means and distribution of the funds that’s become problematic.”
Although both sides agreed Pell Grants are helpful in subsidizing tuition costs, they differed on the origin of money allotted for education and where to put it in terms of what level of government.
“There are tons of schools that need better funding and need that support,” Zahlu said.
Environment
Freshman Michael Leahy, Republican, said renewable energy is important to the Republicans but there is divide between the two parties regarding how and when incorporating that energy into society should be implemented.
Leahy said costs are too high and Democrats’ environmental mandates are not realistic. The private sector will push renewable energy more when the time comes, he said.
“If markets could solve these things, they would’ve already done it,” Zimpfer said. “It’s profitable not to care about the environment.”
Leahy said he thinks the BP oil spill was made to seem scarier than it really was.
“Democrats will continue to hit on these scary images and these ‘raping the Earth’ stories,” he said. “We won’t be raping the future, but we have to get there first.”
Zimpfer said people need to be scared because the Earth cannot afford to continue to be dependent on oil due to its limited supply.
“People need to be scared,” he said. “It’s heroin going into the United States economy.”