The College of Republicans welcomed two local leaders to Copeland Hall to answer questions from the public. The event was hosted on Oct. 30, which was a few days prior to Election Day.
Students, faculty and community members were given the opportunity to talk with Stan Clouse, mayor of Kearney, and Lana Peister, state representative, about their questions and concerns.
“This is a great opportunity to interact with a group of students that are interested in political science,” Clouse said. “I appreciate the fact that the students at the University of (Nebraska at) Kearney are paying attention to what is going on politically, whether that is across our country, across our state or locally.”
The Q&A allowed various topics to be discussed and get viewpoints or opinions on many areas that affect Nebraska citizens. Topics included the major issues within legislation, policies for farmers and student education. Clouse and Peister had many similar stances when talking about these subjects.
Clouse said he sees events such as this as an opportunity for the public to hear from both parties and candidates to form their own opinions.
Both speakers gave detailed explanations of the questions given to them by the moderator of the event. This helped the audience get more information on issues that may not have been on their radar when coming to the event. This also pushed out questions from audience members to get further details on certain topics or bring new subjects to the table.
“I think the issues the public talks about are valid and (they) are interested in what goes on in the legislature and politically,” Clouse said. “How it impacts them as students and later in their jobs, their families and careers. It is encouraging that they come with these questions, and it applies not only now, but for the future.”
The goal of the event was to help the community in engaging with leaders. Not only was it helpful in understanding their plans for the nation’s future, but it also showed how Clouse and Peister plan to help the people in Nebraska and here in Kearney. Both Clouse and Peister said they were appreciative of hearing what the public had to ask.
Stan Clouse encouraged having the event be hosted earlier in the day so that a much bigger audience could be brought in.
