Up and down the Hill

Last week, 9th District Rep. Baron Hill visited campus to address School of Public and Environmental Affairs students on the Iraq war. \nHe defended the standard Democratic stance that the soldiers are doing a fine job but that policymakers have bungled everything. He asserted his regret on initially supporting the Iraq war, claiming the compelling evidence presented by the Bush administration were lies. For good measure, he addressed poor policy decisions on the matter of tax breaks for the wealthy.\nIt could be seen that Hill’s taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to budding policymakers is an example of his dedication to higher education, but we’re not particularly convinced.\nBloomington has classically been a liberal hub in conservative southern Indiana. And the environment of academia here has been known to breed a more a liberal point of view. IUB is a safe location to make a popular appearance and preach to the choir while looking like a supporter of higher education. It was an easy, safe decision to come to a liberal campus and use tired rhetoric to bash conservative policy, then be able to point to it and say, “Look how I took my time out for students.”\nConsidering all these factors, we’re not convinced that last week’s visit was not an easy, if wise, public-relations move.\nHill said nothing new, nor did he spark controversy. He did nothing to directly support us, but he definitely made himself look really good by appearing before us. Was his motivation for coming here really to support higher education and to provide an educational experience for students here? That’s for you, his constituency, to decide.\nBut to prove to us that this appearance was more than just a well-placed public-relations move and that Hill was not simply using us as a conduit to garner more support, Hill’s camp would be wise in planning such events in tandem with a more active role in serving Indiana’s educational interests in Congress.\nWe appreciate Rep. Hill making an appearance on our campus. Such programs are always a great educational experience and an understandable public-relations move.\nHowever, this cannot be used by the Hill camp as a distraction from truly supporting higher education, as the Democratic Party now controlling Congress claims to do. For Hill to fulfill his campaign promises of being dedicated to the educational interests of his district, he must continue lobbying in our favor, supporting bills that divert more funds to higher education and vocally committing to our causes.\nWe, the voters of this district, many of whom are students, put him in office again last year, and he must not forget his responsibility in lobbying for our interests. We should not be simply used as convenient pawns for the public-relations department. We should be served with as much fervor as the other sectors of his constituency. We like having his voice on campus, but where we truly need his voice is in Congress.