Republican Bob Stefanowski, Democrat Ned Lamont, and third-party candidate Oz Griebel participated in a three-way gubernatorial debate Wednesday in front of students at the University of Connecticut.
It came at a time when UConn is in the midst of a four-year tuition hike – which will increase in-state tuition costs by $2,575 per semester. So the cost to go to school is an important issue for voting students.
“Student loan debt in this country is absolutely astronomical and then beyond that, we should be able to afford to go to the flagship university of this state,” said Stephanie Goebel, the president of the school’s college Democrats.
Goebel, who was wearing a Ned Lamont t-shirt when she was interviewed by Connecticut Public Radio, believes Lamont has the solution to make college affordable.
Caesar Valentin, a junior from Manchester, isn’t only worried about the cost to attend college, but he wants to see the minimum wage in the state go up.
“I’m a college student,” Valentin said. “It’s not like I’m rolling in money. I pay for my books, I pay for groceries, pay for gas, car – stuff like that.”
The potential for a $15 minimum wage is one of the reasons why Valentin supports Lamont.
Max Turgeon, the vice president of the school’s college Republicans, believes Bob Stefanowski’s promise to cut the income tax and find redundant costs in the budget could lead to a tuition decrease.
“Bob’s plan is to get rid of the income tax over eight years and that’s contingent on if he can find the waste,” Turgeon said. “I think everyone can agree we can find five percent waste.”
During the debate, Stefanowski said the best path to affordable tuition is to “get this economy moving.” Lamont has talked about expanded access to higher education for all, including free tuition at community colleges for up to two years if students promise to stay in the state afterward.
Griebel, former CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, wants UConn to be more accessible to the state’s high school students and has proposed that kids automatically gain admission if their grades are strong enough.
He participated in the debate after not being invited to the previous two.
Libertarian Rod Hanscomb and Mark Stewart Greenstein, who represents the Amigo Constitution Party, have also gained ballot access in the gubernatorial race. But, they weren’t invited to the UConn debate.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story referred to Max Turgeon as the president of the college Republicans. He is the vice president.
