While the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom wasn't overflowing with people, the decent amount of Ball State University students and Muncie residents who did show up managed to impress Gov. Mitch Daniels with "striking" questions.
Daniels gave some more insight into why the cuts to K-12 and higher education were necessary in his opinion: It was this or raise taxes — which he said he did not want to do. He also took the time to explain his rationale with a PowerPoint presentation. Students and Muncie residents then had the chance to react and give their opinions about that sentiment.
Cuts are happening across the nation, and deficits have to be made up somehow. Unfortunately, the government can't make money magically start growing on trees. And it's unlikely the economy will recover quickly enough to make these cuts a dim memory.
Daniels explained that without the cuts, Indiana would most likely have had a deficit of $1 billion by June 2011. While Indiana still has a small surplus, it will be gone by the end of the biennium, he said.
He spoke frankly about the competition students will face from international sources when it comes to jobs. Additionally, students will have to fix mistakes of previous generations. At least he didn't try to sugarcoat it for us.
Daniels seemed to enjoy the diversity of questions asked by those in the audience. A "well done" and a pat on the back are in order for students for coming and asking questions. If we want important leaders to come to Ball State to talk to us, we must participate when they do. This time, we did.
The governor even stuck around to answer questions after the forum to make sure most concerns were addressed, even though he had to be in Elkhart two hours after the event.
We've impressed the top Indiana politician. Now is the time to prove we're serious.
College-age voters need to turn out for the primary elections in May. If politicians see that we follow up the 2008 youth voting movement with a strong turnout in a non-presidential election year, perhaps we will be taken even more seriously and avoid the lip service we sometimes get.
Students: Stay informed and keep participating. Maybe an increased involvement can help Ball State get more politicians to visit in the future.
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