Simpson College and The American Association of University Women partnered to host a forum for Iowa’s legislative candidates on Oct. 8.

Republican Julian Garret and Democrat Pam Deichmann, who are competing in the State Senate District 13 race; Democrat Scott Ourth and Republican James Butler, who are competing for the State House District 26 seat; and Republican Stan Gustafson, who is running unopposed for the State House District 25 seat, attended the debate.

The debate occurred in Hubbell Hall and was open to the public. There were about five Simpson students in attendance.

Sophomore Hannah D’Hondt, who attended the event, thinks that Simpson students could benefit from learning more about local politics.

“I think a lot of people don’t understand the state level; they understand the federal level. So coming to this really gave me a new perspective on that, and a lot of students would appreciate that on a political level and try to figure out what is actually happening in their state,” D’Hondt said. “I think it was a very new perspective and a lot of students would benefit from that.”

Culver Fellow and Junior Molly Monk said local politics directly affect everyone more than federal politics.

“Local politics affect my water supply, they affect some of my tuition stuff, they really do affect environmental policies a lot more, minimum wage can be set by the state, it affects much more of what I do on a day-to-day basis than the president will,” Monk said.

The political forums that Simpson puts on are a great opportunity for students to learn more about who they should vote for, as the representative’s decisions will directly affect the students in the future.

“I just think it’s a great thing that Simpson’s having forums and debates like this and I think we need to continue that. I think more students need to get involved whether they’re political science majors or not just to see what’s happening on campus and what amazing things we’re doing here,” D’Hondt said.

The Culver Center holds many opportunities on campus for Simpson students to become more engaged citizens. Taking advantage of these events to become more educated on the issues will benefit students in the future.