I would like to say congratulations to all of those who won in this spring’s ASG election, as well as to those who lost. I think for the most part that all of those who ran, myself included, ran not because they wanted the title or because they actually enjoy discussing all the various bills that will pass through the senate the following school year.
I like to think that we ran because we actually care about our campus and the students that have chosen to go to school here. This is something that is lost on the national level of government and that often people get obsessed with gaining and keeping their power in our current political environment.
I want to address a question I often get asked by my friends and fellow students, which is, “Why are you a Republican?” I’ll give you my answer. Our generation values personal freedom as well as making sure that the American dream that was brought to these shores over 200 years ago stays alive and well, and we stand out amongst the nations of the world as a place where hard work and dreams are allowed to thrive.

Millions of people came to America’s shores throughout the years for a chance at this freedom away from the crude, unjust ways of old-world Europe and other countries around the world. America was different because you did not have to be born into nobility to have a voice, and you weren’t prevented from the opportunity to prosper beyond the circumstances you were born into. Since the Great Depression, primarily at the hands of the Democratic party, our country has drifted further and further away from these ideals which were held so dear to us in the past. The government has become so vast and dysfunctional that it now serves as a hindrance to innovation and gets in the way of those willing to commit to their dreams.

Going to the DMV is nothing short of a nightmare in the age we live in today, yet congress has passed laws that attempt to fit us all into a single mold in thoughts that they can serve us all as if we were the same with programs like the affordable care act (Obamacare). This strips away our identity and uniqueness and does not serve the many different needs we have as individuals. Vast overreaches like this on the part of government take us ever closer to the bureaucratic, special-interest-dominated philosophy that our ancestors so bravely took the risk to escape from and later fight against so many years ago. Aside from losing our way philosophically, politicians have recklessly overspent and now jeopardize our generation’s future,. Less than half of recent college grads find a full-time job shortly after graduation. This is largely caused by the burden our massive government places on our businesses.

The end result is clear: our freedoms become fewer, as do our economic opportunities. Because I value my freedoms both civil and economic, I am a Republican. I simply reject the notion that more government is always the answer and that we must lose who we are as individuals for the good of ‘the masses.’ It is with these things in mind that I will serve as an ASG senator. I don’t want only a few clubs or small group of people to benefit from the money that all of us pay into student fees. I also want the government to run efficiently and more openly while ensuring an equal opportunity for all.