In this year’s GSB presidential election, there are five possible slates, but only the candidacy of Daniel Fischer and Maggie Luttrell directly addresses the concerns of tuition, student debt and career prospects.

In 2006, U.S. News and World Report ranked ISU students seventh on their list of most student debt among national universities. State funding for higher education has decreased dramatically in the past 10 years. At the same time, graduates who stay in Iowa face lower wages, even after factoring in the low cost of living.

Each year, many candidates try to promise and deliver lower tuition. The Fischer-Luttrell ticket has had experience in working with the state and local governments and is proposing a diverse set of short-term and long-term ideas to keep more money in students’ pockets. They will communicate with legislators by using the ISU Ambassadors to lobby for more loan forgiveness programs, honest loan corporations and steady funding from the state Legislature. They will also support and lobby for the Generation Iowa Commission’s recommendations to improve career prospects for those who wish to stay in Iowa.

Students deserve representation to state and local political figures from educated and experienced leaders. I encourage you to research the platforms of all the candidates, and then make the educated decision to vote Fischer-Luttrell in the GSB elections on March 10 and 11 at www.vote.iastate.edu.

Josh Merryman

Senior

Biochemistry