news@dailylobo.com
Congressman Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said the Pell Grant is especially crucial to students in New Mexico.
During his visit to UNM on Wednesday, Heinrich said that because New Mexico has high poverty levels and most New Mexicans in college are first-generation students, the Pell Grant is a great way to help disadvantaged students stay in school.
According to the Census Bureau, the poverty rate in New Mexico in 2010-2011 was about 20 percent, compared to 18.8 percent in 2009-2010. According to the bureau, in 2011 the poverty rate nationwide was 15 percent.
“We have one of the highest utilizations of the grant in the country, and they’re most often utilized by people who are the first person in their family to go to college,” Heinrich said. “If they get a college degree, the chances that their kids get a college degree is much higher.”
Despite the current weakened state of the economy, Heinrich said investing in higher education in the state can solve unemployment.
“We learned through this very tough recession that we’re finally getting out of, that people with college degrees only saw an unemployment rate of less than 5 percent,” he said. “That underscores just how much higher education is. Even in a tough economy, people with a good college degree can find a job.”
Alex Bazan, president of College Democrats UNM, said that one of the issues New Mexico politicians should focus on is funding for higher education. She said Heinrich has been addressing the issue throughout his political run.
“A lot of our students are below the poverty line, so it’s important for things like Pell Grants to stick around,” she said.
Heinrich said he hopes there will be a big student voter turnout during the election on Tuesday. He said the government should pay attention to issues concerning higher education.
“I think (student voters) are an incredibly important part of the electorate, and they are the future voters that are going to make the decisions here in 20 years,” he said. “The more people who turn out, the more important their vote is. What I tell students is if you turn out and you vote, all the politicians will start to pay attention to you.”
Bazan said the event was an opportunity for students to meet Heinrich, who is running for the U.S. Senate against Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), and get to know him better.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“It’s really important for students to actually meet the people that they’re voting for and to get that one-on-one interaction with them,” Bazan said. “Especially with the higher ballot candidates that we usually don’t get to meet.”
Bazan said meeting political candidates face-to-face will increase candidates’ credibility, because negative publicity often distorts the public’s views on political candidates.
“It’s a great way to compare what they see in negative ads and make decisions on their own, rather than let such scripts make decisions for them,” she said.
Heinrich declined to comment on Wilson’s campaign.
“Whether you’re Republican or Democrat or Independent or Green, it doesn’t matter,” Heinrich said. “If you don’t vote, people won’t listen to you, so get out there and vote.”
