Recently, billboards, road signs and ads on every platform have emphasized elections and voter registration. The midterms are coming up – the election that determines which party dominates the House of Representatives for the next two years as well as our newest senator and our next governor. For many of us UTD students, those two years will be spent continuing our education, here or elsewhere.
After years of one-party control, the midterms could bring a “blue wave,” flipping Texas’ representation in Austin and D.C. from Republican to Democrat.
A blue wave like this would greatly benefit UTD students as it could end graduate loan caps which currently threaten students’ ability to afford an education.
Recently, Congress passed the 2025 budget reconciliation bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” or OBBBA. This is a major piece of legislation, but one provision in particular put caps on how much students can borrow for their graduate education. It currently has a limit of $20,500 per year up to a lifetime value of $100,000 for graduate degrees.
For a professional degree such as law, medicine, dentistry or pharmacy the cap is $50,000 a year and $200,000 in a lifetime. This barely sponsors a full Ph.D., let alone a J.D., M.D. or pharmaceutical degree at a prestigious school such as UT Austin, Southern Methodist University, or Baylor, which many UTD students may plan on applying to.
According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administration, repealing these caps could result in students being less likely to get priced out of graduate education and make them less reliant on private loans.
When the law was being debated, every Democrat in Congress voted against it, while all but two Republicans supported it. In their recent campaigns, Democrats Josh Turek, James Talarico, Matt Maasdam and many others have taken to attacking Republican candidates over the OBBBA’s graduate caps and have pledged to repeal these provisions if they manage to flip the legislature.
This single action would make it easier for students to borrow enough money to cover the cost of tuition, making post-grad education more accessible. This would also open up more job opportunities in the future for UTD students who cannot currently afford a graduate or professional education.
In addition, a change in representation could bring about the repeal of statutes that have stifled expression on campuses by imposing arbitrary “diversity” restrictions on higher education, thereby helping make UTD more accessible, welcoming and supportive of our diverse student body.
On the state level, Senate Bill 17, which made it illegal for Texas universities to require diversity statements from students when applying and to enforce diversity training, could be repealed with a Democrat win.
In the wake of its instatement, many schools responded to the bill by eliminating scholarships targeted towards students from underprivileged communities and halting efforts to recruit students in marginalized communities in order to gain students from those communities. The negative effects were felt immediately as many students in Texas, including those at the UT System, TWU and UNT, who reported feeling a loss in sense of community and belonging.
Furthermore, many students feel a loss of free speech and expression from the installment of SB 17, with one student from UNT noting that places once packed with multicultural events are now empty. These impacts are concerning as a loss of sense of belonging negatively affects everyone, especially students, many of whom already feel a lack of support in college.
Recently, many Democrats running for office in the midterms have brought up SB 17 as a criticism of their opponents. However, they are currently unable to reverse SB 17 because they are in the minority. If they came into the majority after this midterm, they would have the power to turn this criticism of SB 17 and the OBBBA into action: a repeal or a revision.
This could help UTD students by making the campus more diverse by helping prospective students from underprivileged backgrounds access education at UTD. In addition, it would help current students, especially those who are minorities, including students a part of the LGBTQ+ community, first-generation students, and students of color, work towards their degrees in a more supportive and healthy environment.
One could argue that because UTD is already a diverse student body or that efforts by politicians that would further diversify the campus and make graduate education at UTD more accessible would not benefit UTD or its students. However, on a micro level everyone deserves to have access to higher education and feel like they belong or are supported at their university. On a macro level, while UTD is diverse already, more diversity could bring in more unique and differing perspectives and innovations, allowing more opportunities for all students to engage in interpersonal complex interactions with other students.
As students, many of us can do something to help bring about these changes to better our school. The first action we can take as students only has 4 requirements: be a U.S. citizen and resident, be at least 17 years and 10 months old, not a convicted felon and be mentally capable of voting. These requirements make you eligible to register to vote. Voting is completely free.
Secondly, use your vote for Democrats in midterms. They have already demonstrated they can bring about changes to improve our school and your experience as a student.
Lastly, something everyone of us can do is raise awareness on how a blue wave can help UTD become a better school. This can be as simple as mentioning it to one of your peers or openly speaking out about the benefits of a blue wave. Because everyone deserves to have a government that directly supports their education and wellbeing, especially their ability to attend UTD.