An Oklahoma state representative spoke to students Tuesday night about the importance of higher education and voter participation in the upcoming election.
State Rep. Bill Nations, D-Norman, said students play an important role in elections on a local, national and state level, in a speech sponsored by the Young Democrats in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Associates Room.
“If I have one message for you, it is that you can make a difference and it is on you to do that,” he said.
Nations, who has served five terms as a state representative, is running for his final term. He said students have the power to directly affect the campaign by registering voters and getting them to the polls.
Nations also stressed the importance of higher education, and said it is one of his main priorities. He is an advocate for increasing funding and scholarships.
“Almost everything important that has happened in higher education, I have been a part of,” he said.
“There has to be more college graduates in Oklahoma, and then there has to be a reason for them to want to stay here,” he said.
Nations thinks investing in education will benefit the state’s economy, said Grant McLoughlin, president of Young Democrats and political science sophomore. Nations represents House District 44, which includes OU.
“He believes that investing in education is good for our state’s economy,” he said. “For every bit we invest in education, it gives X number of dollars back into our economy.”
McLoughlin said some of Nations’ priorities in the legislature include a matching grant program which matches donors’ gifts to OU, and OHLAP, which established a permanent source of student funding.
McLoughlin said the Young Democrats will help Nations with his campaign this year.
“We’ve had good connections with him,” he said.
Sam Ikard, vice president of Young Democrats and political science junior, said speakers like Bill Nations are beneficial to the organization and the campus.
“We’ve had representatives here before,” he said. “It’s always good because we get to hear how what they’re doing affects us.”
Nations said this is a historic election year and that students can make a difference.
“We’ve made incredible strides [in Oklahoma] in the last decade. It’s a great time to be here,” he said.
