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Campus debate challenges candidates for District 83 Rep by Sarah Vaughn, Staff Writer Text book prices, tuition, and higher education funding were just a few of the topics discussed during a live debate featuring the Republican primary candidates held at South Plains College. The debate took place on Feb. 23 in the Sundown Room in the Student Center on the Levelland campus. Candidates for the Texas State District 83 Representative primary election participated in the debate, which was hosted by the Student Government Association and moderated by SPC’s Student Body President Sergio Silva, a sophomore broadcast journalism major from Muleshoe. Zach Brady and Charles Perry, along with incumbent Delwin Jones, responded to five questions submitted by SPC students and faculty. The issues of lowering the cost of textbooks and higher education in Texas drew a variety of responses from participants. Brady looked to new technology for answers, promoting the idea of digital book technology such as the Amazon Kindle. “Because that’s one of those hidden costs,” said Brady. “We talk about tuition, and we don’t talk about the fact that you get to go buy six books at $150 apiece, and when you’re done they’re worth 12 bucks. Believe me, I know how little beer 12 bucks a book can buy. You put $800 in this stack, and you don’t get anything back for it.” Jones said that he would look to school administrators for direction in funding and taking a realistic approach to the issue. “Your administration is just as interested [as I am] in providing you with a real good education at the best price possible,” said Jones. “I’m going to depend on the educators to tell me what it takes to give each one of you a solid education when you go into the real world.” Perry suggested taking a look at underlying factors and politics that could be driving up education costs. “You have to look at the politics behind textbooks and the appointments to the committees that look at textbooks,” said Perry. “You’d be surprised that they may have ties to a publisher somewhere.” Another hot issue discussed during the debate was whether the candidates supported laws that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses. Jones said that he believed that college administrators should decide the issue. Brady and Perry both support the law, saying they are A-rated by the National Rifle Association. “A student, or anyone who has a concealed weapons license, has demonstrated that they are a law-abiding person,” said Brady. Candidates also discussed their views on redistricting and water rights. Jones reiterated that his experience in the Texas Legislature would benefit the district in both areas. Brady and Perry both approached the topics from different perspectives. Perry stressed the importance of accountability and transparency in the government at all levels, while Brady used a football analogy to explain his view. “Imagine that you have a quarterback in the NFL whose claim to fame was that he could complete the ‘flea flicker’ better than anybody who’d ever played,” said Brady. “Now imagine that there hadn’t been a ‘flea flicker’ completed in the NFL since 1971. Would you keep that guy on your roster?” Brady continued by reminding audience members that the Texas Legislature has not successfully adopted a redistricting plan since 1971. The hour-long debate ended with closing statements from each candidate. Perry encouraged the audience to look at the sources for each candidate’s campaign funds. “I want each one of you to know that when you come into my office that I’m not serving somebody who just put a check in my campaign fund,” said Perry. Brady cited the endorsements of local organizations and groups, saying that his knowledge of law and local issues would serve the district well. “I don’t know the first thing about winning one of these deals,” said Brady. “But it occurs to me that having the support of business and agriculture and law enforcement is a pretty darn good start.” Jones stressed the importance of his seat on the Redistricting Committee and his 29 years of experience in the Texas Legislature. “I need your vote,” said Jones. “Vote for Delwin Jones and you’re voting for experience and a proven track record of success.” Stan Weatherred, director of student activities at SPC, said that the SGA was grateful to Larry Norris, associate professor of government, for his help and support for the event. “I think the debate went very well,” said Weatherred. “Any time our students get hands-on experience in our political process, it is beneficial.” |
MLK banquet inspires others to have dream by Ellysa Gonzalez, Associate Editor About 47 years ago, a man made history by stepping up and stating a dream about a civil interracial society. For the past seven years, that dream has been honored during an annual vigil on the South Plains College campus in Levelland. This year’s memorial, which was hosted by the Black Student Organization of SPC on Feb. 25, featured a dinner and entertainment, including poetry and musical performances, as well as inspiring words by the guest speaker, Eric Strong, from Texas Tech University. There also were two “Spirit of Martin Luther King” awards given to Willie B. Jones and Darrell Grimes. The banquet was held in the Sundown Room on the Levelland Campus. The room was decorated with pictures depicting Black History in honor of showing the type of struggle that MLK fought for, along with pictures of past recipients of the “Spirit of MLK” awards. “We have this banquet in honor of the King,” said Janae Coleman, a freshman and BSO member. “There are different acts. People come and perform poetry and sing.” Throughout the course of the banquet, there were poetic readings by Samantha Uballe, who recited the poem, “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou, and Royce Harris, who recited a monologue emphasizing “strong black men.” A group of fourth graders from Levelland Intermediate School recited poetry about Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King. A few BSO members also gave a presentation about significant black women in history. After two musical performances by the Evans family of Levelland, the guest speaker was introduced. Strong spoke about the importance of “Holding On to the Dream.” In 1963, Dr. King uttered the famous words, “I have a dream…” Those four words were the basis for the theme of the MLK Vigil. Strong spoke of keeping hold of the dream and accepting the challenge of helping it live on, especially in the lives of African Americans. “…Now they have a national holiday named in his (Martin Luther King’s) honor,” Strong said. “Today, there are those who still hold on to that dream. That holiday has come to serve as a beacon of hope that challenges all of us to do what we can to make that dream come true.” Strong also told stories about how far this country has come in the fight against racism and how far it has yet to go, interspersed with words of encouragement for all who attended the banquet. After the speech, the “Spirit of Martin Luther King” award plaques were presented to the two recipients by Maria Lopez Strong, diversity coordinator for SPC. “These individuals have worked in our communities, churches, neighborhoods, and schools,” Strong said. Dr. King once said that he wanted to be remembered for things he loved doing. Strong says this mindset is what the recipients have shown. “The people that we are honoring tonight have showed that they love and serve their community, and they love doing that type of work… That’s just part of who they are.” Jones has been a Levelland citizen for many years. He is the owner of the Monarch Marble Granite Company and has been in business for about 25 years. He was awarded for being very active in his church and community. “I feel honored, because my whole deal is I like helping the community,” Jones says. “And I do it, not for the recognition, but just because I like doing it. So it makes me feel honored, because somebody did recognize the work I have put in.” The other recipient of the “Spirit of Martin Luther King” award was Grimes, vice president for academic affairs at SPC. Grimes has been employed at SPC for 35 years. In the 1980s, he was asked by a student organization called the Vochais to be the advisor. The Vochais eventually changed their name to the Black Student Organization. He served as their advisor for 10 years. “Well, I was very honored, but I also felt sort of undeserving, because I didn’t really feel like I did anything really special, aside from being the longest sponsor of the black students club,” Grimes said. “…So I didn’t really think I did anything really deserving. But I was very honored.” After the “Spirit of Martin Luther King” awards were presented, Helen Daniels, BSO advisor and dorm mom for Smallwood Apartments, was given an award by the BSO for her commitment to their organization. She explained that the one thing she hoped people took away from the presentations is that education is important. “Everybody has a dream of wanting to be somebody or something in life, and sometimes we pull away from our dreams because we are afraid to go ahead and pursue something we want to be,” Daniels said. “What my focus for this whole thing was education, because we really pull away from education, and I want so much for our kids to get an education these days. It is sad when they are capable of taking what they have and pursuing it (their dream), but they just hold back.” Overall, Strong said it is important for students to know the legacy of people who “paved the way.” “It’s important to have events like this to let the students know about the legacy of the people that have done so much for us,” Strong says. “They have paved the way for us, and sometimes we tend to forget that and take things for granted...Going to college and taking advantage of the systems that we have is important.” |